


It's just polyester.

by mayfixlds, okwillthewise



Series: He's got you mesmerised [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: (for safety), BAMF Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Bisexual Mike Wheeler, Christmas 1986, Coming Out, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gay Will Byers, He Just Doesn't Know It Yet, Hopper is alive, Internalized Homophobia, Jealous Mike Wheeler, Jealousy, Joyce Byers deserves the world, Love Confessions, M/M, Mike Wheeler Loves Will Byers, Minor Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Minor Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Period-Typical Homophobia, Pining, Post-Stranger Things 3, Requited Unrequited Love, Siblings Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Slow Burn, The Party are 16, The boys need to SHARE THEIR FEELINGS, Will Byers Deserves Love, Will Byers Gets a Break, Will's boyfriend deserves a hug, the party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:41:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 60,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27235915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayfixlds/pseuds/mayfixlds, https://archiveofourown.org/users/okwillthewise/pseuds/okwillthewise
Summary: “I just can’t believe he’s got a boyfriend and-”“It’s not you?” Max smacks on the lollipopor, Will gets a boyfriend and Mike gets jealous.
Relationships: Jonathan Byers & Will Byers, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Joyce Byers & Will Byers, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/Original Male Character(s)
Series: He's got you mesmerised [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2049387
Comments: 123
Kudos: 239





	1. Good time for a change

**Author's Note:**

> Ever spend an afternoon with your friends theorising about the new season for your fave tv show and then 3 hours later you've accidentally written a fanfic? Lol can't relate
> 
> Enjoy chapter 1. This is more of an introductory chapter so chapter 2 will be following shortly. After that we will be updating every Saturday and Sunday. We also have a playlist for the fic that we will be continuously updating! You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)

**September 1986 - Benton, Illinois.** _  
__  
_“How was school, Honey?” Joyce asked as Will made his way through the front door, shaking the rain out of his hair and kicking off his shoes. Summer had ended suddenly, with rain and thunder the likes of which the family hadn’t seen since they’d arrived in Benton almost a year to the day. Fall was settling over the town bringing a welcome, though very wet, change. The school bus had dropped him off at the end of their street and Will had ran the rest of the way home due to the storm that had started in fifth period.

“Good,” Will replied, “El’s extra curricular will finish about 4:30pm” he adds.

Joyce nods “Jonathan will pick her up after he finishes work”

Will walks into the kitchen to make himself an after school snack. He opens the pantry, and then the fridge-freezer, scanning to see what he can find; _R_ _eeses pieces, ice cream, chips,_ before pulling out the box of waffles sitting on the top shelf.

“We’re running low on _Eggos_ ” he remarks, non-committal, as he puts the final two in the toaster  
  
“I’ll pick some up for your sister when I go grocery shopping tomorrow”

Will nods, listening out for the familiar ping of the toaster, tapping his fingers on the kitchen counter.

 _He’s being evasive,_ Joyce thinks _._ She’d gotten better over the years at giving him his space but it was hard to avoid _The M_ _otherly Instinct_

“Settle back in ok?” She decides to ask instead. His fingers stop suddenly.

“Yeah.” He shrugs, trying to be nonchalant “A new boy started”  
  
“Oh?”  
  
“He’s nice” a faint blush appears on his cheeks and he becomes super focused on the toaster again “Sat with me at lunch”

 _Oh._ _  
__  
_“What’s his name?” It’s Joyce that fails at being nonchalant this time. She can hear the eagerness and heavy curiosity in her voice as she asks the question.  
  
“Nicholas. Nick. He likes Nick”

“I see”

The toaster pops, breaking the moment. Will quickly plates up the _Eggos_ , grabs a fork, and hurries out of the room, muttering some excuse about getting an early start on homework.

* * *

Late September brings another rainy day and Joyce arrives home after dark, due to running an errand a little further in state. 

She walks in to find Will and his new friend Nick, sitting on the couch, watching a movie. They’re close, she notes, the only thing separating them being a pillow that has been carefully placed between the two of them. They haven’t noticed her enter the room, engrossed in their own little world. 

She watches them for a moment, noting an air of confidence around Nick whilst Will seems tense. Nick clearly notices this too, playfully nudging him with his shoulder. Will relaxes a bit more, that faint blush she’d seen a few weeks previous, creeping back into his cheeks. Joyce debates leaving them be, letting them have their moment, not wanting to interrupt but the floor gives her away, squeaking inconveniently and startling the boys. 

“Mom,” Will starts, wide eyed, the movement dislodging the pillow slightly. He looks small suddenly. 

“Hi Honey. And you must be Nick” She remembers what Will said, about him preferring that name. Will still stares at her, almost frozen.

“Mrs Byers” He replies, his demeanour in stark contrast to Will’s. 

“What are you watching?” 

“ _Parting Glances._ Only _the most_ important film of the decade. I saw it at the movies back in February. It’s good, right Will?” 

“Yep.” Will snaps, immediately turning back to the Television, the blush no longer faint. Nick laughs at the reaction before asking Joyce if she would like to join them (much to her son’s dismay). She turns to the screen as one of the two male characters, sits himself on the other’s lap, locking them into an embrace. She looks again, briefly, to Will who seems to be purposely avoiding looking at the TV.

“That’s ok” she smiles “I’ve got some work to finish up. Enjoy the rest of the movie and make yourself at home”

Nick gives a smile before turning his attention back to the film. Joyce heads toward the kitchen, but not before noticing the pillow had been moved entirely, and an arm was now wrapped round Will’s shoulder, her son was slightly leaning in.

* * *

**October 1986.**

“What did you wear on your first date?”

They’re in Jonathan’s room and Will is mindlessly looking through his brother’s record collection. Jonathan looks over to Will, who clearly doesn’t want to meet his gaze. They spoke a lot, about music, general _how are yous,_ normal things brothers would talk about. The subject of dating, however, _this_ was new. 

“With Nancy?”

“Sure.”

He’s still looking at the records. Jonathan notes he must have flicked through them a few times at this point.

“Nothing _too_ fancy” he starts, “We’d already been through too much to care” He pauses again, considering his next words carefully, knowing he’d have to approach this gently “But I’m guessing that doesn’t help you too much?”  
  
Will finally pulls himself away from the record collection, turning to face his brother. Jonathan notes that he looks like he’s trying to find the right words to say, but isn’t quite sure of how to say them. 

“I have a date. Tonight.” Will begins. Jonathan knows him well enough to sense that he’s trying to gather the courage to continue.

“I figured that” He laughs, Will joining in. Jonathan notices a small bit of tension leave Will’s shoulders, his brother relaxing for the first time since he’d entered his room that evening.  
  
“So where are you going?”

“Mom’s dropping us off at the movies”

Jonathan walks to his closet, Will’s eyes following him the entire time, and begins filtering through a few shirts. 

“Definitely not too formal then” He keeps his eyes on the clothes in front of him as he asks Will his next question. Something tells him that is what Will needs. “So, who is _us_ exactly?”  
  
It’s silent for a moment.  
  
“Nick. I’m going on a date with Nick” It comes out fast, and it takes them both a moment to register what he’d said.  
  
Jonathan turns around just in time to see Will sit on the floor, a dazed look on his face.  
  
“That’s the first time I’ve said that out loud” he says quietly, and Jonathan thinks it’s mostly to himself. Jonathan pauses considering what to say for a moment, not wanting to speak too quickly and say the wrong thing. He goes and sits next to him on the floor, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“Thank you for telling me, but Will -” he sees his brother flinch and Jonathan rushes to finish his sentence “Nick is really not going to care what you’re wearing” They both laugh again, but Will’s is slightly subdued this time.  
  
“Do you care- not about what i’m wearing but about, you know, me?”

Before Jonathan can give a response, El walks into his room. “Does anyone know how long Mom is going to be on the phone? This is the third day in a row that it has been over an hour and I’m waiting for a call from Mi-” She stops, looking between the boys, feeling Will’s discomfort. “Are you ok?” She asks him.

Will takes a deep breath before exhaling. El studies him, a look on her face that they’ve come to know demonstrates her want to fully understand a situation and what she can do to help. She was used to being the one who protected the party, and even with the _big bad_ gone, that instinct never really left her.

“I’m -” his voice cracks “I’m gay.” he says it as if testing out the way the words sound in his mouth. Jonathan can see just how hard it was for him to get out, but he also notices the way Will deflates, a weight Jonathan hadn’t noticed before falling away from his brother’s shoulders. He watches Will’s eyes water slightly, and he blinks quickly to clear them, as if he’s already too vulnerable, and Jonathan guesses he is. They may not be in Indiana anymore, this may be a more accepting state but his brother is in a world where being himself is going to be met with all kinds of intolerance. 

“...but I’m _still me_. I’m still _Will._ I’m still your brother” he speaks faster now, as if years of thoughts are pouring out of his head and he can’t quite catch up.

“Of _course_ you are” Jonathan is quick to reassure him “Will, I am _so_ proud of you"  
  
A beat  
  
“Now, if you’d told me you preferred Kenny Rogers we’d be having a different conversation”

Will smiles slightly.

“Wait. What is gay?” El speaks up “Who is Kenny?” 

Jonathan laughs, Will joining in. He looks free.

“Gay means Will likes boys, El. The same way you like Mike and the same way I like Nancy”

“Will likes Mike?” 

“No. NO. Of course not” Will answers quickly, desperate to change the subject. He looks over to Jonathan, his eyes pleading for him to intervene.

“No El. It just means that Will wants to date boys.”

They can see El’s mind processing this. She nods, coming to an understanding. “Boyfriends _can_ lie Will,” she smiles at him. “Remember to give him the medicine. Who is your boyfriend?”

“It’s just a date...but Nick. It’s Nick” 

“Nick. He’s cute”

Will picks up a pillow from Jonathan’s desk chair and playfully throws it at El. She laughs. “Now get out, Jonathan was helping me get ready” El begins to take her leave, but not before reminding her brother that she loves him. Once out of the bedroom, she shoots a look down the hallway to see if Joyce was _finally_ off the phone, before retreating back into her room.  
  
“Now, I’m thinking you wear one of my band t-shirts. He’s into _The Clash_ , right?”  
  


* * *

  
Later on that evening, once Joyce had finished her call - after much pestering from El - Will was ready, waiting for his mom to get ready to go. They’d agreed to pick Nick up around 6 and although it was only 5:25pm, the anticipation had already built and he was burning a hole in the carpet pacing the living room. Unaware of her son's nerves, Joyce breezes into the room, searching for her car keys, something the kids had grown accustomed to.  
  
“Somebody’s eager” she jests. He says nothing but his face reveals all. “Maybe you can help me find my keys whilst you’re waiting”  
  
Will stops the pacing, jumping into the search for her keys instead. Although, Joyce notices, it’s more of a half hearted search. It’s not that he wasn’t present, his actions whilst looking proved that, but his focus was elsewhere, the items he was picking up acting as a way to ground himself back within the moment. She’d had to interrupt when she’d noticed he’d been rifling through the same draw for about five minutes. He muttered a quick sorry, moving on to look under the TV stand, whilst Joyce started pulling the cushions off the couch, to see if her keys had fallen out of her work uniform one night whilst watching TV.  
  
“Gotcha!” She exclaims, pulling her hand out from behind one of them, brandishing them like a trophy. Will smiles at her, and stops his own search, but stays in his spot by the TV.

“Will, honey? Everything alright?” she asks, now giving her son her full attention.  
  
“Mom” he begins, playing with his hands “What would you say if I told you this evening was a date?” There was a confidence in Will, a change from when she’s seen him watching _Parting Glances._ It was subtle, but it was there. 

She walked over to him and pulled him into a hug, holding him tighter than she had in a long time.

“I would say, I expect you to let me take pictures when we pick Nick up. You only get one first date”

“ _Mom!”_

She begins to pull away, laughing, before she’s pulled back. Will squeezes her so much she can barely breathe, but she finds she doesn’t care. They hold this for a moment before finally, they separate. She looks at him, proudly, and kisses the top of head, before ruffling his hair. Will pulls a face, but allows it to happen. 

The phone sounds and they hear El shout ‘ _I got it!’_ from her room. They take one last look at each other before Joyce suggests they grab their coats and make a start for Nick’s. Will grabs a thin jacket, before being advised that maybe he should take something a little warmer and they head towards the front door. 

They open it, Joyce gesturing for Will to go first. The phone is ringing, El still calling out. 

“Ready Will?”

And he was.

* * *

El gets to the phone just as they close the front door. It’s Mike, calling for their daily catchup. Their conversation was usually the same, _how are you, I love you, I miss you, I love you_ but very rarely does the conversation result in-  
  
“Can I talk to Will?” 

Hearing her brother’s name from Mike sounds strange. They were friends, but she was aware that something had changed between them.

“No” she starts “He’s on a date”


	2. Heaven knows what happens now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike is perfectly fine that Will has a boyfriend. P e r f e c t l y fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 2! Now we will be updating every Saturday and Sunday. We also have a playlist for the fic that we will be continuously updating! You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)

_“No. He’s on a date”_

_“Will’s on a date? Will. Is on. A date?”_

_“Yes. The Movies. Joyce has taken them”_

_“Right. Well, can you get him to call me? It’s been a while”_

_“Okay Mike. I love you”_

_“Yeah, you too”_

* * *

**November 1986 - Hawkins, Indiana.**

When Will didn’t call the next day, Mike understood. A first date, or what Mike presumed was Will’s first date, was a big deal. He could certainly recall what he was like when El and himself could finally spend time together, just them, alone. 

When Will didn’t call after two weeks, Mike could put it down to homework. School was beginning to ramp up in intensity now the initial ‘settling in’ month and a half had passed for the party in Hawkins, so he imagined it wouldn’t be too different in Illinois. He continued to speak to El, she would tell him that Will was busy with homework but occasionally she would mention another name. _Nick._

Nick was becoming more frequent in their conversations; _Nick’s here today, Will and Nick are reading comics in his room, Nick brought round some records for Will._ It wasn’t that he didn’t expect Will to make a friend, of course not. But they’d been in Illinois for a year at this point and there has been no mention of Will hanging out with, well anyone. El occasionally mentioned a Jackie ( _“She helps me with my Math”_ ) but that was as far as the topic of friends extended outside of The Party.

When Will didn’t call after a month, Mike had had _enough_. 

“Mike, please don’t stab your fork into the new plates” Karen had said one night as they were sitting round the dinner table. Holly, now 6, eyes Mike before picking up her own fork and replicating what Mike had been doing only a few moments prior. His mother makes a move to remove the fork from her hand before shooting him a look. “ _Michael’_

“What did I do? It’s not my fault is it?”

Nancy arrives late that evening. Now a high school graduate, she decided to continue pursuing journalism, something she’d had a summer job doing the year previous _before Starcourt, before they left._

“What’s the dweeb done now?” She starts, arranging her dress carefully, before sitting down at the table, “taking out the frustration that Will’s _finally_ giving him a taste of his own medicine on your china?”

“Will and I are _fine._ We talked it out. He’s probably just busy” Mike shrinks into his seat, picking up his fork again, attacking the peas that moved freely around his plate

“ _Michael!”_

_“Mom!”_

The phone rings and Mike shoots a look at the basement, then looks back at his mother expectantly, who rolls her eyes, excusing him from the table. He kicks the back of Nancy’s chair as he passes, she calls him a name that Holly definitely wasn’t old enough to be hearing and down the stairs he scurries. He snatches at the receiver, almost as if his life depended on it, as if this was the most important phone call he was party to for a while.

“Hello?” His voice was alert. _Please be Will, please be Will_

“...Hi Mike.” 

It’s Will, and Mike breathes.

“Will. Hi. How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

_See? They were fine_

“I’ve been trying to talk to you for a while now. It’s so great to hear your voice!” He cringes. What was that?

Will is silent for a moment before Mike hears almost a laugh through the receiver.

“Yeah, yours too”

And the conversation was normal for a while. They spoke about school; _‘The science teachers at Benton are ridiculous. They’re no Mr Clarke’_ and The Party; _‘Dude, Max just doesn’t get it you know? She may be a Rogue but that doesn’t mean she has to act it all the time’_ and it was nice. This was nice.

“I think I just missed you that night” Mike starts

“That night?”

“Yeah, back in October?”

Will goes quiet again. This _wasn’t_ as nice.

“Yeah sorry I was out- just gone out actually”

“El told me it was a-”

“I was out with Nick”

“I thought you were on a date?”

_A pause._

He hears Will take a breath

“I guess I was.”

 _Oh._

“Mike?”

“You were on a date with Nick?”

“Yes Mike.” There's confidence in his voice as he speaks. Mike feels _strange._ “I was on a date with Nick.” He needed to get out.

“I’ve got to go”

“Mike, what?”

“It’s fine. By the way. You, Nick, it’s fine. I’m fine with it. I just have to go. Dinner. Mom’s calling”

“ _Mike”_

“I’ll call you another time ok? Promise.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Bye Will”

“Goodbye Mike-”

And Mike hangs up the phone.  
  


* * *

Mike Wheeler knew one thing and that was that he _didn’t care_ . The odd occasion they played D&D and Max started making up her own rules. He _didn’t care._ When Lucas and Dustin started arguing amongst themselves about _Back To The Future_ and the logistics of time travel. He _didn’t care_. 

Will having a boyfriend named Nick? He _definitely didn’t care_ because Will was his own person and he could do whatever he wanted. 

Besides, he had El. 

It was chilly in the basement that day and, after a highly competitive ‘arcade showdown’ (as Dustin had coined it) that afternoon, they had settled themselves down- Max and Lucas on the couch, Dustin leaning against said furniture with Mike filtering through his VHS collection.

The conversation with Will had taken place two days ago in this very room. _‘I thought you were on a date?’ ‘I guess I was’._ Will had spoken with such confidence, a tone that Mike hadn’t heard since that afternoon in 1985, which he reminded himself not to dwell on. They’d spoken about it. Will was fine, Mike was fine. They were _fine._ And Will’s revelation that he was on a date, further proof they were fine because he’d told him...had he?

 _Did he tell me, or did I make him tell me. Was he going to tell me?_ Mike’s mind spirals before shaking the thought. Mike and Will were fine and he was fine with Nick. 

Nicholas. 

“Dude, make your mind up already” 

Mike turns to scowl at Lucas, picking up the first tape he can feel. 

“ _Pretty in Pink_?” Max laughs “Aw, is Wheeler more of a Duckie or a Blane?” she smirks, looking for a reaction and he knows it. They’d gotten a _little_ better in the last year and a half, since Will was possessed, El returned and Starcourt was destroyed. He supposed past that, neither of them really had the energy to keep up whatever strange rivalry was going on between them. He gives her the finger before putting the VHS in the player, grabbing the remote, and going to sit by Dustin.

“ _Seriously,_ we’re watching this?”

“ _Seriously,_ you’re still talking?”

“Children _please”_ Dustin groaned, “If we have to have it on, can we please view it without commentary”

It’s quiet for a while and Mike wishes El were here. He looked over to see Lucas and Max, comfortable on the couch. _They fit_ he notes. Not that he hadn’t felt that before but it was only now, as they sit, watching _Pretty in Pink_ watching Andie make the complete wrong decisions, as Dustin muttered to himself every so often, that he truly noticed it. Lucas and Max were like two halves of a bigger whole. Sure, the summer of 1985 provided _challenges_ but they were kids. Now, they were pushing 16, firmly settled into their Sophomore year of school and Lucas and Max had never been stronger. 

“So you put on your favourite film and you’re not even watching?”

 _Oops._ He says nothing and turns back to the TV. 

They’re near the end of the film now, Andie is at the prom in the iconic pink dress, Duckie holding her hand.

_‘Andie, he came here alone. You’re right. He’s not like the others’_

“Stupid. Duckie is right there Andie” he hears Dustin mutter under his breath.

_‘If you don’t go to him now, I'm never gonna take you to another prom ever again you hear me. This is an incredibly romantic moment and you’re ruining it-’_

The tape was paused.

“ _Mike!”_ Dustin, clearly engrossed in the film, hits his arm 

“Why aren’t we talking about it?” 

“About what Mike? What aren’t we talking about, right at the end of a film you picked out?”

“Nick. Why aren’t we talking about Nick? Will’s _boyfriend_ Nick”

_He didn’t care._

The party look amongst themselves, before turning back to Mike. Lucas raises an eyebrow, Dustin looks awkward. Max...looks annoyed.

“First of all, you’re so lucky he told us because that is something you do not do asshole. Second-”

“He told you? When did he tell you?”

“Oh my God Mike, _that’s_ what you’re focussing on?” Max leaves the couch, and stands in front of the TV, directly in front of Mike.

“Let me tell you this very slowly Mike,” she talks down to him and despite feigning confidence, Mike has never felt smaller. “You don’t _out_ someone. It’s not for you to do and you certainly don’t _out_ your best friend”

“As for when he told us, we talk to him Mike,” she gestures to Dustin and Lucas, “we don’t treat him like an afterthought when we want to call El”

“Will isn’t an afterthought!” He stands now. So much for himself and Max putting everything behind them. “This is so typical _you_ Max. You turn El against me last summer with all your _crap_ about me ‘corrupting her’ and that ‘boyfriends lie’ and now you’re doing _exactly_ the same with Will! I talk to Will.”

“When Mike? When do you actually talk to Will?”

 _All the time_ he wants to reply but he knows he’d be lying. It wasn’t that they hadn’t spoken at all prior to the conversation a few days previous. They did. But it was different, something felt different and often he found it was easier to avoid feeling that all together and talk to Will through El instead. _Tell Will I miss him_ was different to _I miss you_ but it didn’t change the meaning. 

“Will told us last week,” Lucas finally speaks, clearly feeling uncomfortable with the atmosphere in the room “They’ve only known each other since the start of the school year but he seems really cool Mike”

“Yeah, super cool,” Dustin starts enthusiastically, “he’s into all this New Wave stuff _and_ he’s 17 _and_ Will says he might be getting a car soon. Will got himself an older dude.” Lucas hits Dustin over the back of the head, “What?! What did I say? _He has”_

“They’ve known each other _a month_?” 

“I thought you spoke to Will?” Max retorted mocking him

“I do.”

Mike heard Max scoff. _God he hated her sometimes_

“I just have concerns. Will and El live together now. What if this is a plot from _the bad men_ ”

There was no reply.

“Don’t tell me it’s not possible. What’s the easiest way to get to El now she’s out of state? Through _Will_. Will who’s just moved to Illinois, knowing no one. Will who’s been taken into the Upside Down and possessed by a creature that likely has some connection to the lab. What if this Nick, Rick, whatever, has been planted at school and is using Will to spy on El. To take her away again. What if-”

He stops himself when he spots Max giving him a curious look, head tilted slightly. She begins to smirk and his face suddenly feels hot. 

“It’s just a theory. Forget it. Let’s just watch the end of the film” 

Mike retreats back to his former position on the floor as the rest of the party shoot each other a look before retaking their seats. He can feel Max staring at him through his peripheral vision and it burns. He makes a point of viciously picking up the remote and pressing play, holding the remote tight in his hand.

 _‘Blane’_ Andie calls out on the TV before melting into a kiss, with the aforementioned character, closing the movie. _If You Leave_ by the group Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark rings out as the credits begin.

_If you leave_

_If you leave_

_If you leave_

No. Mike Wheeler _did not_ care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Follow us both on tumblr [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


	3. Slow change may pull us apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Will and Nick's 'magnificent movie date from home' doesn't quite go to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! We know we said we'd upload every Saturday and Sunday, but we're so in love with these chapters we couldn't wait to share them. We hope you like them as much as we do. We also have a playlist for the fic that we will be continuously updating! You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)

**November, 1986. Benton, Illinois.**  
  
Saturday finds Will and Nick on the Byers’ living room sofa, ready for what Nick had dubbed _“a magnificent movie date from home”._ Joyce and El had gone grocery shopping, El insisting she had to tag along (“ _Mom,_ _you never remember my new favourite flavor of Eggos”)_ so it was quiet in the house, save for the soft conversations between the boys, and slight music coming from Jonathan’s bedroom. Before the boys can decide on their movie and snack choices, Jonathan interrupts, walking into the living room.

“Will, I’ve been called into work,” he says, pulling on his jacket “Are you two going to be alright until Mom and El get back?” 

Will nods “We’ll be fine”

“Are you sure? Call if you need anything. Mom should be home soon, anyway”

“Jonathan, _go”_ Will insists “Before you’re late. We’re fine” 

Jonathan nods, slips on his sneakers and practically runs out the door, throwing a quick “Bye” to the boys.

Once the door has closed behind him, Nick turns to Will, suggesting their movie options for the afternoon “I brought _Pretty in Pink_ or _The Breakfast Club_ ”  
  
Will remembered _Pretty in Pink_ from The Party’s spring trip to Illinois. They’d all gone to the movies and it was the only thing on. Remembering Dustin's outrage when Andie had ended up with Blane, rather than Duckie, Will decided he really didn’t need to sit through the whole movie again, just to watch her end up with the wrong person.  
  
“ _The Breakfast Club_ ” He chooses, receiving Nick’s approval. “You set up the VHS, I’ll get the snacks” he says, standing from the sofa and making his way out of the room.  
  
It’s while Will is in the kitchen, preparing the popcorn that he hears the phone ringing from the hallway. He’d been lost in his head, simply standing and watching the microwave spin. He shakes his head, dislodging himself from his thoughts, and heads toward the kitchen door. Before he can reach his destination, he hears Nick calling “I’ll get it! Just focus on not burning our food like last time”  
  
To say that Nick was looking forward to his first conversation with Michael Wheeler was very much an overstatement. So when he answered the phone to an unfamiliar voice insisting that he speak to _Will, his best friend,_ Nick found himself in an interesting position.

“It’s rude to demand without saying hello first”

“Can you put Will on the phone? It’s urgent.”

“Urgent enough to not greet the person you’re speaking with first?”

“Where is he?”

“Where is _who_?”

He hears Mike sigh through the receiver

“Can you put Will on the phone? _Please.”_

It’s a sarcastic response, but Nick counts it as a small win.

“He’s in the kitchen. Now, mind giving me a reason I shouldn’t hang up this call now _Michael?_ Seems like it’s something you’d be familiar with”  
  
Silence.

“...he told you?” Mike’s voice deflated and Nick’s small win turned into a hollow victory.

Before Nick can reply, Will hurries down the hallway, swiftly taking the phone out of Nick’s hands. He doesn’t have to ask who’s on the phone.

“It’s me Mike, just give me a sec.”

Nick raises an eyebrow at Will, who mouths _'I'll be fine’_ before giving him a quick peck on the cheek, telling him to get the movie ready.

“Will I’m sorry. I was a total _asshole_ the other day”

“Wasn’t your finest moment”

“Really though. I’m fine with it. You and Nick I mean. How could I not be, you’re _you_ Will. It’s _you”_

Will’s breath hitches 

“Was everyone ok? When you told them-your Mom, Jonathan, El? Dustin wasn’t all _Dustin_ was he? He’s been on about what Nick’s into and everything”

“They were fine Mike. Didn’t hang up on me”

Mike says nothing.

“Sorry that was too far. Humour apparently doesn’t work well long distance”

“I mean it Will. I’m sorry. Look man, if I could take that back I would.” 

Will hears Nick call out from the other room. Putting a hand of the receiver, he calls out _‘start the movie, I’ll be there in a sec’_

“Sorry am I holding you up?”

Will hesitates, looking into the living room where Nick is still setting up the VHS. He had time.

“No, no it’s ok, I’m sure I can bear to waste a few moments”

“Always a _charmer,_ Byers”

* * *

Evidently, a few moments turns into a _little_ longer.  
  
“You’ve been half an hour” Nick says, not reciprocating the smile that was currently on Will’s face. There is a slight bite to his voice which Will hasn’t heard before, but he understands the frustration. He truly hadn’t meant to miss so much of the film and stay talking for _that_ long, but as much as he hates to admit it, he doesn’t always make the best choices when it comes to Mike Wheeler.  
  
Will shoots Nick a guilty look, mouthing a “sorry” at him before bringing his attention back to Mike.

“Mike, I’ve got to go” he can hear the reluctance in his own voice and he flinches 

“What? _Why?”_

“We’re supposed to be watching a movie. I didn’t mean to talk for this long. We’ll talk soon, promise.”

“Yeah. Sure thing” Will doesn’t notice the dejected tone in Mike’s voice, too preoccupied with watching Nick who was walking back into the living room, shaking his head.

“Bye Mike”

“Goodbye Will”

He hangs up the phone, and makes his way down the hallway after Nick. He’s sat on the sofa, a strange look on his face. Will joins him.

“Nick, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realise the time”  
  
“I don’t get it” Nick starts, “All you’ve been talking about this week is how he hung up on you after you came out and yet now you ignore me for half an hour so you can talk to him? Will, he made you _cry._ ” Nick frowns, but the bite in his voice is gone. Instead, Will hears hurt. And concern. 

“I know” Will admits “He wasn’t great, but he apologised. That’s why I was so long on the phone, we were talking things out. It’s not that he’s homophobic or anything, I’m sure it was just a shock to him. I didn’t _exactly_ tell anyone about me before I left”

“I’ve told you, you don’t need to feel bad about that,” Nick sighs before reassuringly rubs Will’s arm, “everyone does it on their own terms. If you didn’t want to tell them, then that’s _fine_ Will, and completely up to you. That doesn’t mean Michael can act like a _dick_.” Taking his hand away from Will’s arm, he takes his hand instead, interlocking their fingers. 

“But after everything with-” Will hesitates “-that’s happened between us. I dunno. I get it”

“Will, you going missing and what you’ve all been through doesn’t automatically mean they have to know things before you’re comfortable.” Nick studies Will for a moment. His brows were furrowed and he looked completely lost in thought “What happened Will?”

He sighs, looking directly at Nick, “I wish I could tell you, but for multiple reasons that I _definitely_ can’t get into, I can’t. Maybe one day-”

“There’s going to be a one day?” Nick teased

“Shush,” Will bashfully replies, “Just know, Mike and I - and everyone - we’ve got this, I dunno, _shared trauma_ thing going on and yes, I _know-”_ he states, before Nick can interject again “it doesn’t mean that I should have told them. Of course I know that. But just that _I get it_ .”  
  
“I think you give Mike a bit too much credit sometimes” Nick adds, rubbing his thumb on the back of Will’s hand. “I know he’s your best friend but that doesn’t mean he gets a free pass whenever he hurts you”  
  
Will thinks for a moment “Even with what he said last summer, he apologised, and we’ve spoken about it. I truly don’t think he ever meant to _hurt_ me”  
  
Nick stops the movement of his hand, looking at Will confused  
  
“What did he say last summer?”  
  
“We got into this huge fight about D&D. I called El stupid, said _girls_ were stupid, and he said some not so nice things back, something about how its not his fault I don’t like girls” Will’s voice is quiet as he finishes his sentence; it’s clear the memory has brought up hurt he hadn’t quite processed yet “But it’s fine, now. We’re _fine”_

“Will” Nick sighs “I’m not saying this to be a dick, I know he means a lot to you and I don’t know the guy as well as you do, but what I do know is that in the time we've known each other, all he’s done is hurt you” Unlocking their hands, he moves to put his arm around Will’s shoulders, pulling his boyfriend into his chest.  
  
“Nick-” Will starts, but the sound of keys rattling in the front door interrupts him.  
  
Shortly after Joyce and El make their way through carrying grocery bags. El skips into the kitchen with a brief _“Hi Will. Hi Nick”_ but Joyce stops in the doorway.  
  
“Hi Honey. Hi Nick” she says, noticing their closeness and the fact that the movie is still paused on the television “Where’s your brother?”  
  
“He got called into work” Will told her “We were just watching a movie.'' He gestures to the TV “We didn’t get very far” he shrugs. Joyce frowns, but the weight of the grocery bags take precedence and she follows El into the kitchen to unpack, leaving the boys alone again.

“I should probably get going” Nick says, after a moment, dislodging himself from Will and standing up from the couch. Will follows suit, both boys heading toward the door, Nick stopping to get his jacket from the small coat rack. As he’s fiddling with the buttons, Will asks in a small voice “Are we okay? I am sorry we didn’t get to watch the film”  
  
Nick smiles at him “Of course we are” he gives Will a quick kiss, pulling away to wrap his arms around his waist. Will moves into the touch, lifting his arms around Nick’s neck. “We can watch a movie anytime. I just don’t want you to be hurting”  
  
Will notices that Nick suddenly looks bashful, something he doesn’t see often on his boyfriend's face.  
  
“I really care about you, you know?” Nick tells him. Will feels warm. Safe. As if all his worries have vanished here in this small moment “All that matters is that you’re okay” Nick kisses him again, then breaks out into a smirk “Although, maybe next time, don’t ignore me for half of our date”  
  
“I’m sor-”  
  
“I’m kidding. Kinda. It’s okay, Will, I understand - as well as I can - what you’ve left behind in Hawkins. I’d just like you to remember what you have here, too”  
  
“I do” Will reassures him “I really do”  
  
It’s Will who initiates the kiss the time, and it lasts a little longer than before. It’s not until Joyce comes back into the living room, betrayed once again by the creaky floorboard - that she really needs to get fixed - do they part.  
  
“I’ll call you later?” Nick asks, giving Will a small squeeze then removing his arms from around him  
  
Will nods “6pm”  
  
“On the dot” and with that, Nick makes his way out of the front door and down the Byers' driveway, picking up his bike from the porch on the way.

* * *

  
The phone call to Nick lasted more than half an hour, much to Nick’s pleasure. After hanging up the phone Will spotted El, eyeing him from the end of the corridor. He looked at her curiously, mouthing an exaggerated ‘ _what?’_ before she bowed her head, retreating back into her room.

And that’s how Will found himself sitting on El’s bed, her staring intently at page 7 of _Tiger Beat._

She was tense, he could tell. How interesting could the same page be after all? 

“El?” 

She remains silent.

Will considered his next move for a moment. Since meeting and moving in with El, they’d both had, what she described as _‘a connection’-_ Will supposed experiencing The Upside Down and having some connection to _him_ would do that to you. It was something they’d discovered completely by accident. It was an awkward exchange to say the least, Will, looking to El, only to feel an intense rush of emotion that he could only describe as pure happiness - the first time since Hop had died - to be greeted with a highly confused El staring back. It was only after he felt the _familiar_ tingling on the back of his neck, El’s expression changing again to one of fear that they figured this was something they should probably talk about in private. Will wasn’t sure he could even call it a ‘power’, but it was theirs.

But it was also a reminder of _him_ and whereas El treated this more of an indication that her powers were returning, albeit slowly, for Will, this was a reminder of what had happened, how he’d been _that year._ He could block it out, most of the time, but seeing El, sitting there, with an expression he could only consider forlorn, he focused and _listened._

“I can feel you Will. I’m ok. Promise.”

“I wouldn’t do it without reason, you know that. Something’s up”

_No reply._

“El, come on. I’m worried about you”

“Mike”

Oh. A common issue today. 

“Mike didn’t call.”

“Maybe you should call him?”

She looked at him like he couldn’t have said more of the wrong thing. It was at that point that Will made a conscious decision to _tap out_ of what El was feeling, receiving a curious look in return.

“I’m sure he was just busy El. Hawkins High is probably just really piling on the homework” _In November?_

She looks unconvinced but gives a small nod. 

“I’m sure he’ll call tomorrow” He can tell he asks this with a slightly questioning tone in his voice but hopes she doesn’t catch on. She observes him for a moment and Will feels like she is looking into his soul. After a beat she holds out her palm to him, arm outstretched. He responds with the same, weaving their fingers together. They hold this for a moment before El breaks away, giving him a small smile before finally turning to page 8 of _Tiger Beat._  
  
After a few moments, there was a slight tap at the door; their mom calling out “Will, are you in there?”  
  
He yells back an affirmative, and Joyce’s head appears around the door “Can I talk to you a minute?” she asks, gesturing that he follow her out of the room and into the hallway.  
  
The way she phrases it doesn’t make him feel like he’s in _trouble_ , per se, but more as if she’s worrying about something. He knows it can’t be anything _too_ bad; if it were, she’d have called for El too, but he does feel as though he’s walking to the principal's office when he follows her out.  
  
Joyce is standing across the hall, in the doorway to his room. He makes his way in, sitting down slowly on his bed, and watching as she closes the door behind her, and takes a seat next to him. She doesn’t speak for a moment, rubbing her hands on her jeans. She turns to look at him, lifting her leg up under her and settles more comfortably on the bed. Will takes this as a sign that they’ll be here a while.  
  
“Is everything ok, Mom?” He asks "Are you ok?"  
  
Joyce smiles “I'm fine, everything's fine.” she takes another pause “I wanted to talk about you, actually” Her voice is soft, with just a hint of curiosity.  
  
Will frowns at her “What about me?”  
  
“Well, you and Nick specifically” she adds, almost apologetic of the conversation to come “I was surprised to see you alone, earlier”  
  
“Well Jonathan had to work, and Nick was already here, so we thought it’d be okay if he stayed for the movie”  
  
“It was. It _is”_ she reassures him “I trust you know what you’re doing, but you’ve not known Nick _that_ long and I want to make sure that you’re happy. I don’t mind you boys being alone, I’d rather you be in the house and safe. Plus, you’re sixteen and are more than capable of making your own decisions and choices. I want you to know if you want to talk about anything, if you have any questions, if you’re unsure or if you need anything _at all_ , you can come to me.”  
  
Will has always appreciated the way his mom rarely makes a situation awkward. His friends make fun of him for it sometimes, but, aside from Jonathan, she truly had been his best friend for the longest time. She has a way with words that can get her point across, but are full of such comfort and love. He supposes he’s lucky, her attitude to both his and Jonathan’s dating lives has been nothing but acceptance and he finds himself bursting with it. He’s grateful for her support, for her never wavering love.  
  
He smiles at her.  
  
“I know”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Follow us both on tumblr [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


	4. A tough kid who sometimes swallows nails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will was still Will, highly suspicious boyfriend aside.
> 
> And Mike really liked the [mixtape](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/15hvV7sn9hCFpnusL8u6pI?si=1YHK49MbQdmsr9QLpgpeww) he’d given him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! We know we said we'd upload every Saturday and Sunday, but we're so in love with these chapters we couldn't wait to share them. We hope you like them as much as we do. We also have a playlist for the fic that we will be continuously updating! You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)

**November, 1986. Hawkins, Indiana.**  
  
  
When Mike invited Lucas and Dustin over that afternoon, the day after the phone call, he was expecting _Lucas and Dustin._ Not Lucas, Dustin and _Max._

“What’s she doing here?”

“Afternoon to you too Mike. Always a pleasure” She says, taking a lollipop out of her pocket, unwrapping it, popping the lollipop into her mouth, throwing the wrapper at Mike’s head. 

He took them into the basement, turning down the volume on his cassette player that was currently playing a mixtape. The mixtape Will had given him before he left (“ _I know you don’t normally give someone a gift if you’re the one leaving soon but listen to it sometime. Maybe it’ll change your rotten music taste”)_

 _Don’t You (Forget About Me)_ by _Simple Minds_ simply became background noise. 

But if Mike thinks the song is horribly fitting, he doesn’t let on.

He goes and places himself on the couch, Max taking a seat on the arm of the chair Lucas was sat on, with Dustin, on the other side of Mike himself.

“I called Will” He admits

“Wow, you actually spoke to him? That’s a bold move”

“See,” He directs this to Lucas, “ _This_ is why I said NO Max”

“What are you _five?”_ she retorts

Lucas sighs before indicating that Mike should continue.

“It was good. We were good. We spoke about our phone call the other day and then it was just us talking about everything, and nothing and it was easy. It was _us._ Well until _Nicholas_ decided to just intrude. I just _don’t trust him_ and I’m sure Will doesn’t need him breathing down his neck 24/7. I could tell he was annoyed, you know? First he answers The Byers’ phone, then drags Will away at the end because _it’s been half an hour._ ”

“Ever consider that maybe you’d interrupted them?”

“What on a date? _Please_ Lucas, even _I_ could have come up with a better date idea than that. Besides, Will clearly didn’t care that much if he spoke to me for half an hour” 

“Oh wow. You’re _jealous”_

Mike scoffs. 

“But I get it. It’s natural when your best friend starts hanging out with someone else”

_Yes, exactly. Exactly_

“Think what it was like when Max met us when we were out trick or treating,” How could he forget really. He’d been furious, admittedly because it seemed like everyone was just pretending there was no chance that El was alive. But then Will had run off, he’d found him, he’d taken him home. _(“Hey Will. If we’re both going crazy, we’ll go crazy together right?”)_

“But this feels different Lucas. This is _Will”_ And there was Max smirking again, still sucking the lollipop and he wished she would stop. “I just mean,” he corrects himself, speaking directly to Max for a moment “I’ve known him for ages. We’ve been friends forever.”

 _Don’t You (Forget About Me)_ finishes and a song that Mike doesn’t recognise by _The Smiths_ begins

He pauses for a moment, considering his next choice of words. Max still studied him and he _hated it_. Lucas’ eyes flicker to Dustin’s before moving to the couch, where Dustin and Mike were situated. He sits, placing a reassuring hand on Mike’s shoulder, giving him a small smile.

“Hey, we get it man. We all miss Will”

“Yeah, it’s been a year and it still feels weird him just not being here” Dustin adds.

Mike sighs. It was weird. Very weird and he considers that maybe he just hadn’t fully processed that there was a world where there would be Mike _without_ Will.

Morrisey’s voice sings out, and he can’t think his vocal tone is reminiscent of how Mike himself is feeling

_‘No it’s not like any other love_

_This one is different because it’s us,_

_Hand in glove...’_

“I just can’t believe he’s got a boyfriend and-”

“It’s not you?” Max smacks on the lollipop

“No. NO. Of course not” Mike answers quickly. He looks at Max incredulous, as if he can’t believe she’d even brought the idea up. 

It’s subtle, but Lucas pulls a face at the denial causing his brows to furrow. He looks to Mike, considering for a moment, but stays silent.

“I just can’t believe that’s how we found out. How _I_ found out. About him being gay. Why did it take Nick for him to feel like he could tell us? And then when he did I hung up on him-”

“You _hung up on him?”_

“ _As I just told you,_ I made it right. I apologised. But that’s not the point. The point is could he not trust us? Could he not trust _me?”_

“Mike,” Max sighs, rolling her eyes at him. “You need to understand that Will can tell us what he wants to tell us. _When_ he wants to tell us. You don’t get to say when or where someone comes out to you. Will clearly felt ready with Nick, and you need to respect that.”

He knew she was right, _as much as he hated to admit it._

But he still couldn’t shake the thought, that it was something he did, that he’d _done_ and he didn’t understand. He’d practically coined the phrase ‘ _Friends Don’t Lie’,_ something that had become so ingrained into them as a party. _He_ was trustworthy

 _Not completely applicable when it’s something that people hate you for, just for being you_ he mentally notes, dismissing that thought. 

And then he remembers.

“It’s because of what I said isn’t it? After D&D last summer”

_“You’re destroying everything and for what? So you can swap spit with some stupid girl?!”_

_“El’s not stupid! It’s not my fault you don’t like girls”_

And all the conversations between himself and Will about what happened that day, in the rain, outside the garage became meaningless. He remembers Will’s face, the hurt, the fear. Of course he’d immediately taken it back _(yeah by deciding to then proceed to tell him you weren’t kids anymore)_ but it didn’t change what he’d said. That moment, though not intentionally, Mike had exposed Will’s secret, taken that moment away from him-

“Hey, Mike. Get out of your head for a second ok? It wasn’t just you. We both weren’t exactly there for him”

“But _I'_ _m_ the one that said it, aren’t I Lucas? And then when we found him after, at Castle Byers.” _What was left of Castle Byers._ “I did that. _I_ did that”

“ _Both of us_ did. You weren’t the only guilty party in this. There were three of us in the basement that day. If we could just take it back-”

“Right. Too much self deprecation here, from _everyone_ ” Dustin finally says. He makes a move to the cassette player, stops the tape and looks at the title “ _Will the Wise says: ‘Listen to better songs’?_ Are you trying to _make_ yourself miserable?” He directs this directly to Mike, who narrows his eyes in response _of course not_.

“And you, Lucas. C’mon man, don’t be dragged down by misery guts here”

“ _Hey!”_

“I wasn’t around much of that summer. Kind of busy avoiding being _killed_ by Russians in our friendly neighbourhood mall. But what I do know was that there was _a lot_ going on for _everyone_ ”

To Mike and Lucas, the floor suddenly becomes incredibly interesting

“I’m not going to lie to you guys, you leaving me at Cerebro after I’d just got back from camp _sucked_ and spending that whole week hearing nothing from you guys was such _bullshit_ but we’ve talked it out. Jesus guys, we killed the inter-dimensional monster that had been ruining our lives for two years prior. The monster that had gone and possessed Will and-” he stops himself, noting Max’s expression changing to one that he can only describe as numb “- _a lot_ of other people. You don’t go through that, holding grudges over _he said he said_.

“So no. Will didn’t tell you. He didn’t tell any of us, but that’s just because he wasn’t ready before he left for Illinois. Like Max said, before you, _Lucas,_ decided to join Mike on the misery train, it’s up to him and him alone. And that’s separate from the Mall, from D&D and from whatever relationship drama you had going on Mike”

“I wouldn’t call what happened with Will and I relationship drama-”

“I'm talking about you and El”

“Oh. Oh, right”

_Right._

“It was a year and a half ago guys. I think we need to move on. Besides, how are we going to face Byers at Christmas if Mike’s being all _Mike”_

* * *

After Dustin’s _talk,_ The Party decided it was probably best to get out of the basement and headed towards Palace Arcade ( _“What better way to let out some pent up tension than with some Dig Dug”)_

There was an uneasy atmosphere on the journey there- which Mike supposed was natural considering the emotions that had been brought up not even an hour prior but hey, if it meant that when they reached the arcade, he could finally win at _Dragon’s Lair_ and steal Princess Daphne from Lucas then he guessed it was worth it. 

Walking in, the first thing they noticed was that it was _very_ busy. Max, Dustin and Lucas made a b-line for _Dig Dug_ and _Dragon’s Lair_ respectively leaving Mike trailing behind. Rolling his eyes, he looked for a free machine, _any_ free machine and spotted _Space Ace_ in the corner. He’d played it a few times, himself and Will had played it together on occasion so Mike couldn’t see the harm in playing a game or two. He put in ‘two coins’ and the game began.

Mike soon realised why Will and himself didn’t play it too much as ‘two coins’ quickly became more with him being stuck on the same part of the level for at least five minutes. 

“I was never able to get past that section until someone told me how to do it”

 _GAME OVER_ blasts out again and Mike pulls his focus away from the machine to face the voice

“Want me to impart my wisdom?”

The first thing Mike notices is what he could only really describe as _piercing blue eyes_ . Just very blue eyes. They were intense but _soft_. He knew it was a strange thing to pick out about someone but he told himself it was also a bit weird to approach a stranger mid-game announcing that they could tell you how to beat it. 

“...Sure?”

Mike learnt the boy was called Jesse, and was a Junior at Hawkins High- _figures why I don’t recognise him_ he thinks. Despite his initial reservations about him showing him how to “ _Win at Space Ace”_ Mike figured that actually, it wasn’t too bad having him around, at least for a little while. Jesse reminded Mike of someone, between the short framing hair and the almond shaped eyes but freckles were peppered all across his face, giving him a distinct look. It was only when Jesse looked over to him asking _“Do you wanna play now?”_ did Mike realise he’d been staring. He felt his face grow slightly warm, and he was quick to look away, murmuring a quick “Yep”

Mike had determined that Jesse was very good at the game and if he were to show him how to play again some other time, he wouldn’t be _completely_ against it- he was so much better than he was at it after all.

Suffice to say, Mike lost the next round.

He checked his pockets; _empty_. If Mike was disappointed, he didn’t let on.

“Sorry man, out of quarters”

Jesse shrugged, head tilted, a small smile on his face.

“Ah, happens when you’re in the game of _Space Ace_ ” He digs into his own pocket, picking out a crumpled receipt and pen. He uncaps the pen with his teeth before proceeding to scribble across the back of the paper. He hands it to Mike a moment later, who looks down to see a number scrawled on the bottom, next to Jesse’s name and a rough sketch of the main character from _Space Ace._

“What’s this for?” Mike asks “To arrange a time to play again?”

“Well, if that’s what you want to call it”

_Oh._

And Jesse walks away, leaving a very red faced Mike and a _very_ smug Max staring over from _Dig Dug._ Mike quickly shakes his head, almost in an act of defence before turning immediately back to the Arcade Machine.

Preferably, Mike would have loved to have had a moment, on his own, to process what had just happened, but when he’d heard whispering coming from _Dig Dug_ along the lines of _“I’ll just be a sec”_ he knew this was no longer a possibility.

“What’s on the paper Mike?” She comes in close and they’re standing shoulder to shoulder, her voice low.

“Nothing.”

“You _do_ realise what just happened there right?”

“Fully aware, was one of the ones involved-”

“Because I don’t think you _are_ Wheeler”

He turns his head slightly towards Max, not wanting to gain attention from the rest of The Party but a glare is evident.

“ _Stop. It_ .” He bites, “You’ve been doing this ever since we found out about Will and Nick. Just _stop.”_

“Everything alright?” Lucas and Dustin have joined them now, identical frowns on their faces.

“Wheeler is just being his usual oblivious self-” Max says, 

“ _Max”_ Lucas interrupts, with a hint of finality and Max finally gives in.   
  
“Come on, Mike” Dustin says, gesturing back to the _Dig Dug_ machine “I got a new high score, lets see if you can beat me this time”

* * *

It was around 9pm when The Party departed after the day’s events. Despite Mike insisting that _the boys_ stay over, Karen had informed him that tomorrow, since Nancy was working, he had to be up early to babysit Holly whilst she was out at her new aerobics class. _Definitely not a vision I need,_ Mike thinks, changing into pyjamas. 

When Mike found himself by the phone, once he’d arrived home, ready to call El to apologise for not calling the night before, he reached into his pocket, finding the receipt that Jesse had given him at the arcade. He stares at it for a moment feeling a strange rush of adrenaline. He feels his breathing quicken before promptly, ripping the paper into tiny fragments so that no trace of what had occurred that afternoon remained. 

He exhales. He calls El.

“El I’m sorry, it was just a long day”

“It’s ok Mike. Will said you had homework”

“How is he? I Kind of got a talking down from Nick yesterday”

“...he’s okay Mike.”

“Yeah he seemed pretty annoyed at me. I don’t get why he didn’t just let me _talk to Will_.”

“Mike. Will is fine. Nick is fine. How are you?”

But now, Mike found himself sitting on his bed, mixtape in hand. He looks through the track list, a lot of the artists he hadn’t really listened to much of, if at all. He notes Will chose a song by _The Clash_ that wasn’t _Should I Stay Or Should I Go?_ supposing it would probably be a little on the nose after everything they’d all been through. 

_Or maybe he’s just moved on?_ He thinks, remembering Dustin’s words from earlier. It was inevitable really, moving on. Will certainly had, finding himself in a new state, having to make new friends and of course, getting himself a boyfriend.

Mike doesn’t allow himself to consider why his stomach drops at that thought, making a move to lock his bedroom door instead.

He picked back up the mixtape, and lay down on his bed.

 _Changes_ by _David Bowie._

_If that wasn’t appropriate._

He thought of Will again, thinking of the changes he’d have had to have made to just be his authentic self. For starters he’d have to tell people. Mike appreciated that Will was very lucky to have people around him that would accept him not matter what, through sickness and health. _Through vomiting up a slug creature to exorcising a monster._ But he was also aware that a lot of people don’t get that luxury. A lot of people wouldn’t have a Joyce Byers.

And for just a moment, he allows himself to consider how his own family would react _if_ he were to be in Will’s position. 

_‘Mom would be fine, I guess.’_ He thinks, _‘Might not speak to me for a few days but I think she’d be okay. Nancy wouldn’t care, hey if we haven’t been through enough.’_ He pauses, when considering his Father, suddenly feeling cold, fingers tapping against the mixtape out of nervous energy

_‘Probably best not to tell Dad, for a while anyway. With what he reads, hears, sees...I don’t think he’d get it. I don’t think he’d understand me’_

Ultimately though. No matter the changes, Will was still _Will,_ highly suspicious boyfriend aside.

And Mike _really_ liked the mixtape he’d given him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Follow us both on tumblr [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


	5. Only shadows ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well she chose wrong. You always go for the protagonist's best friend in these kinds of films. It just makes sense”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was one of the hardest to write as it's slightly different to the previous chapters, but very much necessary as we reach the midpoint (ish) of the story!  
> It's also a long one so we really hope you enjoy it.  
> Thank you to all of you that have been reading, we'll glad you seem to be enjoying it as much as we are enjoying writing it!
> 
> We have a playlist for the fic that we will be continuously updating! You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)

**October, 1985. Benton, Illinois.**

“-and you’re still coming over for Thanksgiving? Oh, and Will too of course. But you’re coming?”

“Yes Mike, Joyce said we’ll be there on the 27th”

There’s _a pause_

“And Christmas?”

“And Christmas.”

There’s _another pause_

“I can’t wait to see you, I can’t believe you’ve been gone a week”

“I know. You’re the first person I called after we got the phone set up”

“Really?”

“Of course Mike, you’re my _boyfriend”_

“You sure? I wasn’t sure after all-”

“Of course Mike, I love you too, remember?”

El hears a soft laugh down the end of the phone “Well, as long as you’re my girlfriend- wait sorry that’s kind of obvious I guess”

“No more lies?”

“As long as girlfriends don’t spy”

El laughs, and sees Will approaching her out of the corner of her eye giving a small wave in recognition 

“El I gotta go. But I’ll talk to you tomorrow, ok?

“Tomorrow”

“Goodnight El”

“Goodnight Mike”

Smiling to herself, she hangs up the phone. She turns to where Will has stopped in the hallway. He has a curious look on his face, almost as if he were trying to calculate the situation  
  
“That was Mike?” He asks

She gives a small nod

“I thought you ‘ _dumped his ass’_?”

El shrugs “He loves me”  
  
Will’s face has an expression that El can’t quite read. She sees his eyes briefly flicker down to the floor before meeting hers again, a small, if not reluctant, smile on his face.

“That’s great El. I’m happy for you.”

And with that, he heads toward the kitchen to help Joyce with lunch.

* * *

  
  
**November, 1985. Hawkins, Indiana.** **  
** **  
**When El runs into Mike’s arms when they’re reunited at Thanksgiving it happens. Will is watching them, a knot in his stomach witnessing the embrace, when a rush of pure unadulterated happiness falls over him. The feeling knocks him for six, and he feels a chill as he senses an all too familiar tingling in his neck. El’s attention shifts immediately from Mike, to stare at Will. She didn’t know what she was feeling, she couldn’t quite put her finger on all of the emotions rushing through her, but _confusion, anxiety and fear_ take precedent and she feels herself go limp in Mike’s arms 

“El?” She hears Mike ask, concern in his voice, still holding her close in his arms, “You ok?”

She says nothing, still looking at Will, whilst he stares back, wide eyed.

 _“Will?_ ”

She removes herself from Mike, darting over to Will, whose fingers were currently palpating against the left side of his neck. Not quite holding, like a few months prior, but more searching for a connection he thought had disappeared.

He’s brought out of the moment when he feels fingers wrap around his own, removing them from his neck. Will’s eyes meet El’s own and he entangles his fingers within hers, squeezing her hand slightly, the movement grounding him further.  
  
“Will, are you ok?” It’s Mike that asks as he runs over to join them. He puts a hand on his shoulder, and Will flinches at the touch. “What’s happening?” Mike speaks again, when he receives no reply. He drops his gaze between El and Will, staring at their joined hands. 

“We need a room.”

“Wait, _what?”_

“Me and Will. We need to talk”

Mike, pulls a face before telling them they can use his room ( _“I’ll be in the basement when you’re done”)_ and Will follows El up the stairs, still overwhelmed by the onslaught of emotions. He sits on Mike’s bed, gripping at the duvet with both his hands, as if he were trying to confirm he was still present, still in the room. El shuts the door, and locks it, before joining him, sitting a comfortable distance away, giving him the space he needs.

“Is _He_ back? Has _He_ found me?” Will finally whispers, the fear evident in his voice.

“No.” She replies.

“But I felt it _everywhere”_

“Me too.”

“Then why? _Why_ is it happening again?” He rubs his eyes with his palms, shaking his head slightly “ _Why_ me? I just want it to be over”

“Will. It is over. This was different, I didn’t feel _Him_ _,_ I felt _you”_

“ _What?”_

“What did you feel, Will? Was it the same as summer?”

“I felt happy. What did you feel?”

“You. You felt a lot of things”

El recognised the expression on Will’s face as the one she had seen on him when Mike had become her boyfriend again, noting his eyes evade hers.

“Why. Why do you pull that face?”

“It’s nothing El”

“I felt something. The same feeling as when I saw Mike and Max in the school-”

“Let’s just stop talking about it. I don’t need a reminder of _His_ hive mind plan ok?

“But-”  
  
“El. Forget it. I don’t _like_ this. I don’t _want_ this” He says it with a tone which sounds too harsh coming from the mouth of Will Byers. He must see this on her face because the next time he speaks, it’s softer “Please can we just agree to not tap into this, not unless we _have_ too. Don’t tell Mom, either. The last thing she needs when we’ve just moved to a new state is think we’ve brought a part of this whole thing with us”  
  
“We don’t know when it will happen. It could be random, like today. What if we can’t control it?”  
  
“We _have_ to”

They’re both quiet for a moment, and El notes that Will has a stern look on his face. She nods and she outstretches her arm towards him, palm facing up. He stares at it for a moment, before doing the same, meeting her in the middle, interlocking their fingers.

“We have a _connection_ Will. But ok. Not unless we _have_ to.”

Will and El eventually left Mike’s room, heading into the basement to find him fiddling with his Walkie Talkie. He spots them, drops the device and meets them at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Are you guys ok? I guess it wasn’t exactly the welcome back to Hawkins you expected huh?” He asks them both, before directing his attention to Will for a moment “Will, are _you_ ok?” His voice is softer.

El looks over to Will briefly, to find him looking at her from his peripherals, subtly shaking his head. His eyes shift back to Mike’s, a smile spreading across his face.

“Of course”

* * *

**March, 1986. Benton, Illinois**

_“Well that film was a total bust”_

The Party had come to visit for an extended weekend around Spring Break and decided that naturally, the only thing to do (and there wasn’t much to do in Benton) was go to the movies. 

Unfortunately the only thing that was showing was _Pretty in Pink._

“It wasn’t _that_ bad” Mike had said. He had El’s hand clasped within his own, which had been the case since Will and herself had picked The Party up from the Greyhound station in Mt. Vernon. _Comfortable_ El notes, as she gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. The film wasn’t _that_ bad.

“Not that bad? _Not that bad?!_ The film was all _wrong”_ And if Dustin realised his outburst was causing a scene in the lobby, he didn’t let on. 

El looked at him tilting her head in curiosity “All wrong?”

Dustin made his way to the vending machine, taking a few coins out of his pocket, checking he had enough before slotting them into the machine. “For starters, Andie is an _idiot._ ” He presses _Coke_ and it dispenses.

“I think you’re taking this film way too seriously man” Lucas adds, nudging Dustin out of the way, paying for a drink for himself and Max.

“Am I Lucas? _Am I?_ ”

“Yes, you _are”_

El observed the pair. She’d missed this. Missed _them._ They didn’t have a lot of time to catch up around Thanksgiving, with her and Will’s _discovery_ and the general festivities of the season. They’d both spent the majority of the time at Mike’s, only briefly seeing The Party when they came round to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV- They’d all been so happy to finally be reunited (albeit though only after a two month separation) they found themselves singing the _Rainbow Brite_ float song _“...make the world a rainbow place for friends like you and me”_ for the vast majority of the day, Lucas and Max teasing Dustin that maybe this could be one he could sing with Suzie.

“...I think the director made a mistake. It _had_ to have been a mistake. El what did you think?” Dustin asked. She looked at Mike, who looked back at her, hands still firmly locked. He kisses her lightly on the cheek, giving her hand a gentle squeeze “I didn’t mind the ending” she shrugs, smirking and looking at Max, “She made her own rules by not picking Duckie” 

“Well, Byers agrees with me, right Will?”

“What? Oh yeah of course.”

El notes that Will seems out of sorts, almost in a daze. He doesn’t really seem to have an expression. She looks at Mike, who’s clearly noticed it too, the grip on her hand slightly looser, growing concern presented on his face

She’s tempted to try and _read_ Will, but remembers the promise _“Not unless we have to”_ and determines this probably wasn’t the time to do so. But still, she knew something wasn’t right. 

“ _Thank_ you. At least one of you has sense. The whole thing was set up. It was in the plot. He was _right there._ ”

Mike’s fingers twitch involuntarily. It’s a moment later that she feels him pushing their hands back together, the movement intentional this time.

“Dude, it’s just a movie. Who cares if it’s Duckie or Blane? _She_ chose _Blane”_ he replies, rolling his eyes. El studies him before noticing that Will was now looking over, so she shifts her attention. She notes that he’s not so much in a daze now, but almost as if he’s struggling with whether he should say something. He notices her staring, and his eyes grow wider before he looks over to Dustin. 

“Well she chose wrong. You always go for the protagonist's _best friend_ in these kinds of films. It just makes sense”

“Sounds like someone _really_ likes a romantic-comedy” Max teases, taking a sip of the drink Lucas had got for her ( _“Thanks for having the sense to not get me a New Coke”_ )

She feels Mike’s fingers, lightly drumming against the back of her hand. She looks up at him, his eyebrows furrowed, expression unreadable. Will is looking over again too- his eyes flickering down to herself and Mike’s joined hands. She notices Will mouth something to him ( _“are you ok?”_ ) Mike’s face softens, tension dissipating. He gives a small smile before he replies (“ _of course_ ”) Will returns the smile, the floor suddenly becoming rather interesting.

“Oh excuse me, Miss _Sixteen Candles”_

“Do I _need_ to bring up the _Never Ending Story_ sing-a-long again?”

“Look, this whole thing doesn’t even matter anyway. I won’t be getting the VHS and we _definitely_ won’t be watching it again”

It’s Lucas that breaks it up, suggesting that they should probably head back to The Byers’ and El feels content. It was so great for them all to be together again, as friends, _her friends_ and it was moments like this that made her long for Hawkins. But there was too much baggage, too many memories and though the move to Illinois had been scary, The Byers were gradually settling into their new life. 

“Hey El?” It’s Mike, with a caring tone, “Kind of lost you for a second there,” His thumb is drawing small circles against her own “You good?”

“Are you good Mike?”

“What? Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” He gives her a look, almost as if how he’d been just a few moments prior had never happened. 

“ _Friends don’t lie”_ She presses.

 _“Boy_ friends also don’t lie, El. I’m fine.” El is unconvinced and he sighs, “I dunno- it’s dumb. But I’m ok, really. I blame the movie” He makes a point of raising his voice slightly on the last statement, a smirk on his face, knowing it’ll get a reaction from Dustin. Lucas lets out an exasperated sigh ( _“Really Mike? We’re starting this again”)_

He continues, his voice softer again “I guess i’m just thinking about a lot of things-”

“ _Will”_

“Hang on, what?”

“He looks sad. I saw your face change when you looked at him”

He sighs again “Do you think we’re ok? I know me and him haven’t spoken much lately, but you’ve been passing on that I do miss him right? Because I do! I know I should say it myself but, I dunno, it just feels _different._ He’s still my best friend and I know we’re fine because he wouldn’t have asked me if I was fine just then but-” He pauses for a second, turning to face El, taking her other hand in his own. He gently swings their arms looking down at their interlocked fingers

“I’m sorry”

“It’s ok Mike”

“No more wallowing in self pity for the rest of the trip ok? It’s me and you now. Happy for me to steal you away from The Party tomorrow afternoon? Was thinking you should show me Benton’s finest in the way of ice cream?” He leans in slightly closer, and she does the same

“It’s no Scoops Ahoy. No Steve or Robin to give us a free cone” They’re close now and El can feel her eyelids flickering to a close

“I’ll pay-”

“Hey, _lovebirds_ hurry it along. You make us wait any longer and Mrs Byers will probably send out a search party”

The moment’s gone and El and Mike sigh, letting out a breathy laugh. He quickly, but gently pecks her lips before leading her towards the rest of The Party.

**August, 1986. Benton, Illinois**

It’s a month before school begins for the new year and Mike comes alone this time, well, with Nancy. It’s his third day in Illinois and they’re sitting in El’s room, door appropriately open at least 3 inches (El’s idea - “ _it’s what Dad would say”)_ after Mike reassured Mrs Byers that they’d just be listening to music. Joyce had smiled, telling them that she trusted them before giving El a kiss on the forehead and heading off to work. 

They’re _happy._ They’re in their own little world and they’re listening to _How Deep Is Your Love_ by _The Bee Gees_ on a record player that had once been her Dad’s.

“El?” Will interrupts, tapping lightly at the door. He’s wearing a conflicted expression, as well as a light jacket, shoes and backpack, "I think i’m going to head out for a bit”

El, walks over to the player, removing the needle from the vinyl.

“Where? Did you tell Mom before she left?”

“...not exactly, but i’m not going far ok. Just a walk round the block”

“Does Jonathan know?”

“ _El.”_ Will rolls his eyes, “I’ll tell him now, but he won’t care. It’s _just_ a walk.”

She studies him. _He’s acting strange. Something is wrong._ she notes. She makes a move to tap into their _connection_ , but she’s only slightly breached the confines of his mind before he turns to her with a sharp “ _El. Stop it”_ _  
__  
_Mike looks between the two, confused, but the siblings are silent. Will fixes her with one last look before he leaves the room. He passes Jonathan’s room, shouting a quick “I’m going out” and heads toward the front door before he can be stopped further.  
  
He’s halfway down the driveway when he hears the front door open and close behind him. He turns, expecting Jonathan to have caught up with him but instead it’s Mike, still shrugging on his jacket and slightly out of breath.  
  
“Will wait, I'll come with you.”

Will sighs, continuing on his way, calling back to him.  
  
“Mike it’s fine, hang out with El. I just want to get some air”  
  
“Come on, dude. There’s clearly something going on here. You’re not acting fine.”

Will stops and Mike uses this as an opportunity to take a few steps closer

“Hey, we’re ok right? It just seems that for the last few days you’ve kind of been avoiding me-”

“I’m just giving you and El space. I know it’s hard not being able to see her like you used to”

“Will, don’t be like that. I came to see you too.”

“You _have._ It’s been great getting to see you. But I know it’s different seeing El and with school starting up again soon, I thought you’d want to spend as much time with her as possible and I don’t want to interrupt that”

“This isn’t like last Summer Will. I’ve told you before, I was a total _asshole_ about it ok? You- you and El- i’m not messing that up with you guys again” 

“It’s not you Mike, it’s _me”_

“Why do you sound like you’re breaking up with me?” Mike lets out a nervous laugh.  
  
“I’m _not_ ” Will asserts, not returning the laugh “It’s just- I’m sorting through some things in my head, and I need some time alone to do that”  
  
There’s a beat. A sigh.  
  
“I’ll leave you to your thoughts, then” The curiosity is still there in the tone of Mike’s voice, but it’s mixed with one of resignation. He knows Will is not planning on sharing anything today. He gives Will a slight smile, before making his way back toward the house.  
  
“Wait” The word leaves Will’s mouth before he can stop it. Mike abruptly turns around “Mike, I’m-” he pauses.

“Yeah, Will?”

El appears at the front door, noting that Will seems to be preparing for something, his fingers tapping in nervous anticipation. He opens his mouth to start, but no words come out.

“I’m-”

“Will?”  
  
Will sighs again, then gives the couple a small smile.  
  
“I’m really happy you came” He says to Mike “And I _am_ fine, honestly. I really do just want to get some air, before I’m cooped up inside when the homework starts to pile on again. Last days of freedom and all that” He jokes. El and Mike share a look and Will uses the moment to continue his walk away from the house.  
  
“Is Will ok?”

Mike looks out seeing Will disappear around the corner, “I should go after him”

“Mike, he wants to be _alone”_

“He was about to say something El. He was about to tell me something. I can’t just let him walk off after that!”

“What do you want me to say Mike? Do you want me to tell you to go? Do you want me to tell you not to go?” 

“It just feels like i’m the _only_ one that can see he’s not ok”

“I can feel he’s not ok, Mike! I know he's not!"

“You can _feel?”_ Mike questions, brow furrowed, “What does that mean?”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s my brother Mike. Of course I care about him”

“Yeah but only for like _a year_ El . He’s been my best friend since we were _five!_ ” 

There’s a moments pause and Mike’s face becomes a picture of absolute regret, “El i’m sorry that was too far. I didn't mean-”

El’s expression says nothing as she walks back into the house, and without touching it, the door slams shut behind her.

* * *

**December 18th, 1986**

It wasn’t the first time that Mike had called twice a day. In fact, it had been something that had been happening pretty regularly for the past week; Will usually answering the first initial call.

_“Mike is everything alright? You’ve kind of formed a habit here”_

_“Of course. Are you alright?”_

_“...Yes Mike. Want me to get El?”_

So when Will called out to El for the 8th time that week saying Mike was on the phone...again, her usual enthusiasm had become a little dulled. 

“Mike?”

“Hi El. How are you?”

“Same as I was earlier”

“Right”

There’s a _pause_

“Everyone ok?”

“Same as they were earlier”

“Right”

There’s _another pause_.

“Then...I guess everyone is good”

“Yep.” El sees Will lingering in the hallway and quickly motions him over, Will approaching hesitantly

“Mike I’ve gotta go. Will... needs to call Nick” ( _“El what-”_ and she puts her spare hand firmly over his mouth)

“Oh. Didn’t you say earlier he was coming over?” 

“He’s sick. Nick is sick.” (Will stares on, incredulously)

“Is Will ok?”

“Goodnight Mike”

“...Goodnight El”

* * *

**December 19th, 1986**   
  
“Mom can I talk to you?” El asks, standing in the open doorway to Joyce’s room.

“Whats up, sweetheart?” Her mom asks, looking up from where she is sitting on her bed, folding clothes.  
  
El tentatively makes her way into the bedroom. The last few months had been _confusing_ to say the least, and she really didn’t know how to deal with everything that was happening. She’d fought literal monsters from alternate dimensions, had been to said dimension and lived to tell the tale, but dealing with her boyfriend? Constant uncharted territory. It had made her feel _warm_ when she realised she didn’t have to deal with it alone, though. When she remembered that she had her mom now, who she could go to for anything she needed. Boy trouble included. 

She joined her mom on the bed, who stopped the folding to give her daughter her undivided attention. Joyce reached out to squeeze El’s hand, a comforting gesture, waiting for her to share what was on her mind.  
  
“It’s Mike” El starts, her voice small “Me and Mike”  
  
Joyce frowns slightly, but she remains patient, encouraging El to continue.  
  
“I think I want to break up”  
  
That’s clearly not the response her mom is expecting, and the frown turns into a look of a shock. Joyce knew that they’d broken up for a short time during their last summer in Hawkins, but from what she knew they were back together and happy. She knew El looked forward to their trips back there, and she loved it when Mike had come to visit, especially when it was just him and they could have time to themselves. She could barely get them to part, sometimes. Mike _had_ missed that one phone call last month, but he’d been so apologetic the following day, and she thought they’d made up. 

“What’s happened?” Joyce’s voice is soft, patient. She squeezes El’s hand again as she waits.  
  
“He lies. To me, but also to himself. Mostly to himself” She trails off toward the end of the sentence, but Joyce hears the gist of it. Before she can reply, El continues, months of built up worries tumbling fast.  
  
“He’s focussed on other things. We talk. I ask him how he is. He talks about...things that aren’t me. All the time. Now all he wants is to know more about _Nick_.”  
  
“I’m sure he’s just interested in what’s happening with Will, honey. He speaks to you more, but they’ve been friends for so long. Mike’s a good kid, he’s just checking in” Joyce reassaures, but El is shaking her head long before the sentence is complete.

“It’s not that” She says, frowning “It’s not like when he asks about you, or Jonathan. It’s because-” she shakes her head “It doesn’t matter. I don’t think I love him, either. Not IN love. I thought I did, but the way I love you, and Will and Jonathan and Dad. The Party. Family and friend love. I’ve been confused and Mike has too”  
  
El pauses again, considering her next words.  
  
“He’s working out things but I’m not the right person for him to work them out with. ”  
  
Joyce’s face is curious now, thinking as she processes El’s words. Before anything else, she lets herself feel _proud_ at how far her daughter had come. She simply adored the young woman El was becoming, watching her grow and figure out life for herself moved Joyce in a way so specific she couldn’t quite describe it. El watches her, scanning her face for response.

“Firstly” Joyce starts “Thank you for coming to me, for _telling_ me. It seems like this has all been a lot, huh?”  
  
El shrugs “I remembered what you said when I came to live with you. Anything _at all”_  
  
Joyce’s heart swells and they both smile at the reminder. After Hopper had died, and El had found herself with nowhere to go, Joyce hadn’t hesitated to take her in. She’d debated for a while whether adoption was the right route; she didn’t want to replace any of her parents, all of whom had been taken away from here in such awful ways and it _had_ taken some time for El to feel completely comfortable with the Byers, to truly have felt at home. It was one night during the summer that El had asked if Joyce would mind if she called her Mom, the same way Jonathan and Will did. Joyce had felt honoured and pulled her daughter in a tight hug, murmuring a comforting “Of course, sweetheart”. After El had admitted she’d been worried about asking Joyce to make the choice, but she had been quickly assured that she could come to her for anything. She didn’t need to be alone any more and she’d make sure it stayed that way for as long as possible.  
  
“And I meant every word” Joyce reassured her again “Secondly, are _you_ okay? How do you feel about all of this?  
  
El pauses for a moment, debating her answer.  
  
“Yes. No. I think so? I mean it when I say I’m not in love with him. But I wish he wouldn’t lie. I wish he’d _talk_. I know talking is hard, but I can see he struggles” her brow furrows, trying to figure out the situation as if it’s a very hard puzzle.  
  
“El. Sweetie” Joyce starts “Mike may be struggling, but that doesn’t lessen yours. It seems like this has been brewing for a while, and not being in love with him absolutely doesn’t mean what you’re both going through is any less valid. You’re allowed to be upset by this, _confused_ by this. It’s always hard ending a relationship, but if you think you and Mike aren’t right for each other anymore, if you think you’re not what he needs then talk to him. No matter what he’s dealing with, he’ll understand and he’ll listen”  
  
El nods,  
  
“I think being together just makes us both feel worse. He’s worried about upsetting me. I can tell” At this, Joyce notices tears starting to fill in El’s eyes. El doesn’t cry regularly, but she does when she’s overwhelmed, when everything has become _too much_ and she needs the words and thoughts and memories out of her head. As if her brain works too fast for her mouth to keep up, so it searches for other ways to get everything out. She wipes at her eyes with her pointer finger.  
  
“I don’t want to upset him either,” she admits, rubbing at her eyes again “What if he hates me?”  
  
“There is one thing I know about Mike Wheeler, and that is that he could never hate you, El. Romantic or not, you’re one of his best friends and he won't let that change”  
  
“But-”  
  
“And, you will both be upset if you break up. I can’t change that for either of you, and I wish I could make it easier, make the pain less, but all I can do is be here with ice cream the minute the pain hits. The second you need me. But what is important is that you remember that even though it will hurt now, that hurt is temporary. Being in an unhappy relationship hurts a lot more in the long run”

“Is that why you broke up with Will’s dad?” 

“Something along those lines” Joyce confirms, thinking back to her time with Lonnie. El notices a distant and pensive look on her mom’s face. “But Mike isn’t Will’s dad. He wasn’t a nice man, and he didn’t understand we’d be better apart. Mike will. Mike will respect the choice you’re making, the same way you respect him enough to make it”

El nods, confusion slipping away into resignation. She’d known that this was coming, knew that this was the right decision to make, but she knew she’d needed to talk it through with someone. Will was a no-go, not because she didn’t think he could give good advice, but because she knew it wouldn’t be fair to him. She’d thought about going to Jonathan, too. She’d really grown to love her eldest brother and knew he’d listen to her anytime, but ultimately she’d just really really wanted _her mom_ .  
  
“This is going to be hard” El says  
  
“I know, honey”  
  
“I’m going to do it tonight. When he calls”  
  
“If that's what you think is best, then I’ll be right here waiting for when you need me”  
  
And with that Joyce pulls her daughter into a hug squeezing her tightly to her chest. She loved her boys more than anything, but sometimes if she really lets herself admit it, she’d comment on the fact that a little girl would’ve been nice, too. The reasoning for El coming into their lives was not something Joyce was quick to repeat, but she wouldn’t give up her daughter for anything. El not being her biological child meant nothing, she loved her just as much as she loved Jonathan and Will.  
  
El squeezes back just as hard, resting her head in the crook of her mom’s neck, settling there for a moment. Both of them allow the moment to rest for as long as it needs, basking in the silence, the comfort and the love that radiated between them.

* * *

When the phone rings that evening, El braces herself for the conversation ahead.  
  
“Hi Mike” she answers  
  
“How’d you know it was me?” He asks “Hi, by the way”  
  
“Six thirty” El states “You always call at six thirty. And now two thirty. _And_ sometimes even four thirt-”

  
Mike laughs “Okay El, I get it. You’ll be glad I called earlier today, though. I can’t talk for long tonight, I’m supposed to be babysitting Holly”  
  
“That’s okay” El says “I do need to talk to you, though. It’s important”  
  
Mike’s laugh cuts off abruptly, worry lacing his voice “What’s wrong? Is everything okay? Is it Will?”

“Everyone’s fine” El sighs “I’ve been thinking a lot. About you. About me”  
  
Despite her reassurance, the worry is still present in Mike’s voice when he asks “What about us?”  
  
Another sigh.  
  
“I think we should break up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! You can follow us both on tumblr at [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


	6. Just give him a chance to grow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The puzzle piece finally fits.
> 
> Oh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which it finally 'clicks".
> 
> We hope you enjoy this chapter. Remember, you can find the playlist (that we'll be regularly updating for the fic) [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)

_“I think we should break up”_

For a moment, the only thing that could be heard was the crackle of the phone.

“What? _Why?”_

“Because you don’t talk to me” El’s voice was firm

“El, We talk every day. I call you every day”

“Yes, so you can ask me about Will or talk about Nick.” She pauses “You now call two times a day, sometimes three, and it always goes back to the same thing. You don’t tell me how you are when I can tell there is something wrong. Mike, you care about those things. You don’t- ”

“El, I don’t care about Will’s stupid boyfriend” 

“Nick’s not stupid” El retorts, her voice sharp

**_\- “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls” -_ **

Mike goes cold. _Stop,_ he tells himself, _just stop._ He thinks of that day, he thinks of Will’s face and curiously he thinks of that day at the arcade and the conversation with Max that followed ( _“You do know what happened there don’t you?”)_ He thinks back to ripping up that old receipt until not one part of it remained. He thinks about all the many phone calls he’d made to The Byers to assure ~~himself~~ El that everything was ok.  
  
“…for Will. Why can’t you just give him a chance?”

El’s voice pulls him back and he doesn’t know what to say to her. This feels different from before, when it had been El discovering herself, because eventually she’d found her way back to him. This time it felt final, and he didn’t know what she expected him to say. He notices that the phone is shaking. He stays quiet, taking hold of his right wrist to try and stop the tremors.

Eventually, El breaks the silence again.

“Mike?”

“ _What_?” he can hear the harshness in his tone, but he only feels slightly guilty

“Talk to me”

“ _Apparently_ all I’ve got to talk about is Nick”

El sighs.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, El”

“You cannot tell me you’re not surprised”

 _She’s right_ , he thinks. He’s quiet again. His left arm falls limp at his side.

“I’ve wanted to break up, too” She admits after a moment

“Isn’t that what you’re doing?” he at least tries to hide the bitterness in his voice this time.

“No. Before” El clarifies “I love you-”

“Then what’s the problem, El?- ”

“ _But_ like I love all our friends. And I think you do as well. You love me like you love Lucas, like you love Dustin, like you love Max”  
  
“El-”

“It’s okay” She says, her voice the softest it had been the entire conversation. The type of voice you’d use if trying not to spook an animal, or to keep a baby from crying. “I think we will be happier this way”

“I’m sorry, El”

Before she can answer, Mike hears the sound of keys, rattling at the front door, pulling his attention  
  
“Mike? Where are you?”

Nancy. Her voice echoing throughout the house. The basement door opens and she appears at the top of the stairs, her arms folded against her chest.

“Nice job babysitting Mike,” She starts, “Just an hour, that’s all it was- are you ok?” 

He looks up at her, dumbfounded. 

“Is that Nancy?” El’s voice sounds through the receiver. 

“Just a sec,” he replies, using his free hand to beckon Nancy down the stairs. She gives him a look but makes her way down slowly, not taking her eyes off of the phone in his hand. She wonders what she’d interrupted. Mike’s demeanor was unfamiliar to her, and he had a look on his face she hadn’t seen before, as if something significant had shifted but even he couldn’t figure out what.  
  
“Do you want me to go now?”

He did but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. He felt as if as soon as he put the phone down it became real and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to accept that.  
  
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”

He pauses _._

“What about Christmas? Do you still want me?”

“Of course I do, we all do. No matter what happens we’re still friends, Mike.”

“Okay I’ll be there. One last thing. Don’t tell him. Not yet.”

She doesn’t even have to ask which _him_ he’s referring to.

“Friends don’t lie.”

“It’s not a lie. More...a secret.”

She sighs before replying, “Okay.”

There's a silence

“I’ll see you next week then.”

“Early Friday afternoon”

“Goodbye Mike.”

Nearly 3 years has passed since he first heard this phrase from her, and this time, it felt more final. A goodbye from what was once _mikeandel_ . Now they were just Mike. And El. He wasn’t even sure what that meant. He’d grown up with her, they’d been through so much, that to now see her the way he saw his other friends in Hawkins felt weird. Not bad, or good, just. Weird.  
  
“Goodbye El.”

And she was gone.  
  
He exhales. 

“Want to tell me what that was about?” Nancy asks, looking at Mike concerned.  
The dial tone could still be heard from where he still had the phone in his hand.  
  
He looks away from the phone and at Nancy instead.

“El just broke up with me”  
  


* * *

  
“Lucas, it’s Mike, open up” He shouts, banging on the front door of the Sinclairs house.

“Dude, calm down” The door opens, but it’s not Lucas behind it. Instead it’s Max, wearing Lucas’ old Hawkins AV t-shirt, holding a bowl of coco puffs. “It’s 9am, what are you doing?”

“Why are _you_ here? Last I checked this isn’t your house”

“I came over for breakfast but we ran out of milk, after I got last of it of course” she gives a slight smirk “Lucas has just gone out to get some”  
  
Mike tenses slightly. The emotions he’d been holding in since his phone call with El last night had built up so much that he had woken up at 5am, and couldn’t get back to sleep. He’d waited until it was a respectable time to wake Lucas up, going over what he would say to him, but with Lucas gone, he now had no way to let them out. He scuffs his shoe against the front step before turning to leave.

“Well, tell him to call me when he gets back. Code _yellow_ ”  
  
“Mike, wait. You’re shaking” there was a concern in her voice that he hadn’t heard before. 

“It’s _cold.”_

“Bull _shit_ ” she retorts, but the concern comes back a moment later “Why don’t you come in and wait? He won’t be long”  
  
He turns back toward the house, and follows Max into the Sinclair’s living room. He’s always loved it in here, the room feels more homely, and lived in compared to his own. His mom, who stays at home for a living, always makes sure their house is clean and perfect. Mrs Sinclair is more relaxed, and Mike loves seeing bits of their daily life scattered throughout the house. If he didn’t have his basement, he knows that most of their childhood would’ve been spent here instead.  
  
“Do you want a drink to _warm up?”_ Max asks, her eyebrow raised  
  
“ _Piss off_ ” he replies, rolling his eyes, but with no malice in his tone.

She shrugs, muttering _suit yourself_ under her breath before sitting down on the arm of the couch, balancing the bowl of cereal on her knee. Mike notices how easily Max fits in here. She’s comfortable at the Sinclair’s in a way she isn’t in her own home. 

“Alright Wheeler, who died?” she asks, before taking a mouthful of coco puffs.

“El broke up with me” he blurts out, before he can stop himself. 

Max drops her spoon back into her bowl with a clang, milk splashing onto the side of the couch. 

“What happened this time? Nana sick again?”

“Hilarious” he rolls his eyes “No, something to do with Will and his stupid boyfriend”

“Nick’s not stupid, Mike.”

“I am so _done_ with hearing this. You don’t even _know_ him. None of us know him, even Will’s only known him 5 minutes. He could be stupid. Why am I the _only_ one that cares about Will. This random guy comes into his life and everyone is just lining up to become Rick’s best friend.”

“Oh, grow up Mike,” Max rolls her eyes. “ _Nick’s_ lovely. Have you even spoken to him?”

“Once, and that was more than enough.”

“No wonder El broke up with you”

“I thought you were trying to help me”

“Well that was before I realised how much of a moron you are being. Is El ok?”

Mike nods “She said she doesn’t love me anymore, and that I don’t love her”

“And do you?”

Mike sighs, realising that the conversation is going to be a lot more complicated than he’d planned. He makes his way to the sofa, sitting down next to Max.  
  
“I’ve been awake most of the night trying to figure that one out myself” he admits “If you’d asked me yesterday, I’d have said yes, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I didn’t anymore. I’m not sure I have for a while now” he says, finally letting out what he’d been repressing for weeks  
“I think I’ve been deliberately avoiding how obvious it is that El was falling out of love with me, too.”  
He rubs at his eyes with his palms, “I’ve really made a mess of things”

“Hey, budge up” Mike moves over, allowing Max to slide down from her current position on the arm of the chair. “It’s _ok._ Nothing that can’t be fixed, we’ve always managed to before. That’s what we do. Fix things” She gently nudges his arm and Mike gives a semblance of a smile.

“Although, I’m surprised you’re even telling me all this”

“Oh believe me, this was completely out of convenience” 

Max nudges him harder this time, before becoming a little more serious “But seriously though, after the other day. I’m surprised”

“I guess you were trying to help in _your_ way.” He pauses for a moment, glancing at Max before looking down to his lap, his right hand scratching at his left. “I did know by the way. About-”

“The guy in the arcade?”

Mike nods. “About what he was asking, when he gave me the receipt with number on it”

Max, observes him for a beat, giving him control of the conversation. 

“I didn’t do anything with it. I couldn’t- I _wouldn’t_ do that to El”

“Forget El for a sec ok? How are you feeling about it?

An _‘Ahem’_ comes from the hallway. Erica is there in pink pyjamas and a scowl on her face. She’s leaning on one hip, her arms crossed. She stands firm underneath the archway.

“You,” she points at Max “You’re fine, but you,” she points at Mike, “what are you, doing in _my_ house at 9:15am. I cannot be expected to deal with _all of this”_ she gestures with her hands _“_ Before I have even had my _Froot Loops_ ” 

“Mike is just having a crisis while waiting for your brother to get back with more milk” Max tells her “We ran out”

“Well,” Erica starts, “I would appreciate it if you could have your crisis _quieter_ . Especially now i’m being starved” she looks directly at Mike, as if it’s his fault her breakfast has been delayed.  
“I’m going back to bed, where it’s quiet and away from all these repressed emotions. Max, let me know when I can finally eat and when _he”_ she adds, pointing at Mike, “is gone.” she turns back through the archway, marching back up the stairs, muttering to herself, from what Mike can pick up, about ‘dumb boys’ and ‘feelings’. 

“I should leave” Mike says, standing up

“Erica is just being Erica” Max reassures “Besides, Lucas will be home any minute”  
  
“Really Max, it’s okay” Mike says, but his expression suggests he is anything but. “But thanks anyway” his voice, sincere which Max considers a small win at least.

Mike makes his way to the front door, Max in tow, shouting a mocking ‘Bye Erica!’ up the stairs, earning a “Screw you, asshole” in return. He rolls his eyes, gives a quick wave to Max, before attempting to open the door, finding it opens freely because there is Lucas, milk carton in hand pushing it open. He stumbles out, giving Lucas a fright, causing him to drop the milk as all three of them watch as the contents pour all over the front porch.  
  
“ _Jesus!_ ”  
  
“You dropped the milk.” Mike says casually, stepping over the puddle and into the Sinclair’s front garden, wanting to get out of there as quick as possible before Erica is informed that breakfast has been delayed indefinitely. 

“Mike, what are you doing here?” Lucas asked, frowning when he notices Max in the hallway too.  
  
“Came to speak to you” Mike tells him “Found Max and your _wonderful_ sister instead”  
  
“El broke up with him.” Max adds, unhelpfully.  
  
“Yep, she sure did” Mike says sarcastically “and with that I think it’s time for me to go. I’m fine really” he adds, when Lucas tries to interrupt “I’ll speak to you later”  
  
He gives them both a small wave and makes his way toward the road. As he’s walking away he hears Lucas ask Max  
  
“Why’d she break up with him this time?”  
  
“Because of Will and his ‘ _stupid’_ \- his words, not mine - boyfriend”  
  
“Ah” Lucas replies “He really _is_ an idiot”  
  
Max sighs “Tell me about it”

* * *

**December 24th, Christmas Eve 1986**

  
“Mike” Nancy’s voice comes from his bedroom door, he’d taken to avoiding the basement “You’ve been moping since El called. It’s been five days, you’re clearly not ok” She walks in, not waiting to be invited, and sits down on his bed, pushing aside a selection of notebooks, and empty cassette cases that Mike had carelessly left open “Spill it”  
  
Mike, who had been sitting at his desk trying to successfully make a mixtape, scowled at his sister.  
  
“ _Leave”_ _  
__  
_Nancy snorts “Not a chance”

“I’m busy”  
  
“Bullshit, Mike”  
  
He rolls his eyes, turning back to face the cassette deck, “I just want it to be perfect”  
  
“Are you making it for someone-”

“Just me.”

She picks one of the cassette cases reading _REO Speedway_ ’s ‘ _Hi Infidelity’._ She looks at the track list, noticing a few had been marked off

“So what kind of songs are on your _perfect_ mixtape”

“Go away.”

“ _Mike.”_

He sighs, “It’s just songs I like. It’s for me. Songs that make me think”

“They make you _think?_ ”

He mutters something along the lines of it’s _nothing, forget it_ before inserting another tape into the deck.

“So which song did you pick by _REO Speedway? ‘Don’t Let Him Go’_ or ‘ _Keep on Loving You’?”_

He stops to a halt.  
  
“Because personally I think El would like-”  
  
“Nancy. _Shut up”_ _  
__  
_“Though I always pinned her for a _‘I Wish You Were There’_ kind of girl”

“I’ve already told you it’s not for _her”_

“You seriously expect me to believe this is a mixtape for _you_ Mike?”  
  
“I seriously can’t believe I expected _you_ to leave me alone”  
  
Nancy sighs  
  
“Mike” Her voice is more serious now, and the tone causes Mike to turn to face her again “You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I know this whole thing with El must be confusing, especially with us heading out there in a couple days” ( _“That’s one word for it”-_ he says, under his breath _)_   
  
“You don’t need to be embarrassed for feeling shit after a break-up. That’s sort’ve what they do” She reassures  
  
“It’s not the _break-up_ I’m feeling shit about” 

“And that’s ok too. You’ve got a lot of history together, it’s a big change to make.”

“Thanks for the reminder” The sarcasm is evident in his voice, Nancy very used to it at this point.

“Look. I’m just saying it’s ok to be feeling how you’re feeling”

“That’s easy for you to say, you won’t be disowned-”

“ _Disowned?!_ ” Nancy frowns “Mike, mom and dad know you had a girlfriend” 

“It doesn’t matter” Mike speaks quickly now, his face reddening as he swiftly turns back to fiddle with the cassette deck. “Just leave it ok? Tell Mom I’ll be done soon”  
  
  


Nancy doesn’t move.  
  
  


“What aren’t you telling me?”  
  
  


Nothing.  
  
  


“Mike.”  
  
  


Nothing again.  
  
  


“Why would you be disowned because of what you’re feeling? I don’t -”  
  
A sniffle. She sees Mike’s hand reach up to wipe at his face.  
  
“Are you _crying_ ?” The concern in her voice increases “What’s going on- _”_  
  
“Don’t make me say it. _Please_ don’t make me say it.”  
  
Nancy can see her brother’s shoulders shaking now, and he’s not even bothering to mask the fact that he’s crying anymore. Her mind is racing, trying to make sense of his words. Their parents were fine with him dating, and were fine with El, so she doesn’t know why he’s worried about his relationships. She knows there is something she’s missing, one puzzle piece that she needs to try and make fit. He’s been so _not_ Mike these last few days, weeks if she really thought about it, and she was growing more and more concerned. Mike’s words and actions flicker through her head again, his feelings, his behaviour, the mixtape. His concern over being disowned. It’s as if he felt his feelings were taboo, something he couldn’t talk about.  
  
Mind still spinning, she looks down at the selection of cassettes and the open notebook she’d pushed aside earlier. It’s in this glance she notices something she hadn’t before, in her rush to sit down. At the top of the page, above the list of song choices for the mixtape, there are two words, written in Mike’s scribbled hand.  
  
 _For Will._ _  
__  
_The puzzle piece finally fits.  
 _  
__Oh._


	7. I remember when you were here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She wondered how long he’d been dealing with this, how long these feelings had been pent up inside of him waiting to explode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you like chapter seven! We've seen your suffering in the comments and all we can say is, we're sorry. ENJOY!
> 
> Mike and Nancy's 'Perfect Road Trip' [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0P6qDw3D7nF0iirhv3maia?si=M7d9iSCZQHyPXlUgy314Jw)  
> We also have a playlist for the fic that we will be continuously updating! You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)

**December 25th, 1986. Hawkins, Indiana.**  
  
It wasn’t that Christmas Day in the Wheeler household was uncomfortable. It was more that after the events of the night before, everything seemed to be more _heightened._ So when Nana Wheeler arrived at 11am, greeting her grandchildren, who were decked in very itchy Christmas sweaters (bearing a grin that their mother had told them to put on) Mike was finding it incredibly hard to hide his discomfort. 

“Look at you both,” she affectionately pinches their cheeks, “Michael, you’re looking more and more grown up each time I see you”

“Merry Christmas Nana”

“And Nancy, your mother tells me you’re still working at the Hawkins Post?”

“Yes Nana, deferred College for a year”

“Well, I suppose you know what’s best for you don’t you”

Mike scoffs under his breath earning himself a subtle kick to the ankle from his sister

“Now, Michael, how’s your little girlfriend? Jane, was it-”

“ _Shall I take your bags Nana?”_ He interrupts, picking up her suitcase and swiftly guiding her out of the room.

* * *

Dinner was prompt at 2pm, Karen having spent the entirety of the morning making sure the turkey was cooked and stuffed to perfection, the potatoes suitably mashed, and the eggnog having the right nutmeg ratio. If you were to ask if this was meticulously executed as a way to make her mother-in-law happy, she would tell you that _‘Christmas is just a special time of year’_ but Mike and Nancy could tell. They sat around the table, waiting for their mother to carry in the turkey centerpiece, Ted opposite Holly (who was currently reaching for the spoon that was resting in the bowl of potatoes) reading yesterday’s paper. Nana was sitting between Mike and Holly with Nancy, on the other side of Mike, next to her Father. 

There’s a tension that only Mike and Nancy are aware of, not helped by the fact that every few moments they would glance over to one another to find the other looking back. Ted, blissfully unaware, continues reading the paper.

“Michael,” it’s Nana again and Mike winces, “You never did tell me how Jane is doing, are we going to meet her-”

“ _Nana_ ,” Nancy chimes in, “ _Jane_ actually lives in Illinois. With my boyfriend. Jonathan. They’re siblings” she adds unnecessarily  
  


_Awkward_

Mike is sitting, one hand on the side of his head, staring at the cranberry sauce wanting to be anywhere but here. He shifts his eyes to her miming “ _stop”_

Nancy shrugs, apologetic.  
  
Mike glares at her.  
  
There’s a small _oops_ as Holly, finally managing to grab the spoon, drops a pile of mashed potato onto the table.  
  
Nana is momentarily distracted from discussing ‘Jane’, as she turns to scold Holly. Mikes seizes the opportunity to kick Nancy under the table. 

“ _I don’t know what you think you’re doing but stop it”_ he mutters

“ _Helping you out actually. Didn’t think you wanted a conversation about El right now”_

_“I don’t want a conversation at all.”_

“Michael. Nancy” Nana interrupts. She’s looking away from Holly now, squinting at the elder Wheeler siblings. “What are you muttering ab-”  
  
“Here’s the turkey!” Karen walks in, serving plate in hand. She looks exhausted, but she has a smile on her face that’s out of character for the environment she’s just walked in on. She places it down on the centre of the table, trying and failing to hide her frustration at Holly’s dropped potato.

“This all looks great mom” Nancy says, turning away from the muted conversation herself and Mike were having. 

“Yep. Looks wonderful” Ted adds, still looking at the paper

“Ted put the paper down, it’s Christmas” Karen snaps

He lets out an exasperated sigh before folding up the paper and placing it under his chair.

It’s then that the atmosphere in the room catches up to Karen, and she frowns.  
  
“Is everything ok?”  
  
“ _Fine_.” 

“Perfect.” 

She’s unconvinced but she takes a seat and begins to carve, the sound grating on Mike’s nerves. He grinds his teeth, leg shaking under the table. Nancy puts her hand on his knee, a subtle _It’s okay, breathe._ He uses his free hand to push her hand away. His jaw tightens further and he clenches his fists. 

“Would anyone like to say grace?”

It’s Karen that answers her own question. The family bow their heads, elbows on the table, hands clasped together, as she begins speaking. Mike listens to the words, but they’re not being processed, not really, as his mother talks about having thanks for the _“family beside us and the love between us”-_ it’s like his mind was trying to make sense of the words, but fighting against comprehending them. He felt like an anomaly, as if he’s not quite there in his own body. As if he were watching from the outside. 

And when it was over, Mike couldn’t be happier.  
  
They start the dinner in silence, the only sounds heard being _chewing, scraping, chewing_ and Mike feels very exposed. He thinks of a way he could escape. _Maybe I could get sick. Or make myself sick. Or, at least, pretend to be sick._ For a moment he prays one of his friends would ring the home phone- Will, Lucas, Dustin even _Max_. He’d even take El, because, at this point, nothing would be worse than sitting here, Nancy _knowing_ and acting the way she was currently acting.

“Mike? Are you not hungry?” His mother asks, concerned

_A way out_

“Sorry, late night. It’s really good mom” _never mind._

The cycle of _chewing, scraping, chewing_ begins again.

The phone never rings.

  
  
“So,” Nana says, once dinner is done. She wipes her mouth with a napkin, turning to Mike “What were we saying about your girlfriend, Michael?”  
  
“We had actually just started talking about my _boyfriend_ , Nana” Nancy interrupts ( _“Nancy.”_ Mike spits through gritted teeth)  
  
“Oh how is Jane, Mike? I haven’t heard you call for a few days” There’s curiosity in his mother’s voice and Mike begins to feel a sense of being overwhelmed

“Yeah, well we-”

“He’s been to busy cooped up in his room-”

“Will we ever get to meet-”

“If I have to hear another track by Morrisey and The Smiths-”

“Really everyone, I think we should-”

“You know when I was your age Michael that was when I met your grandfather-”

“Those songs he writes. There’s definitely some _themes-_ ”

“Maybe we should just finish Christmas dinner-”

“-and look now all these years later. Look at the way the Wheeler family has grown-”

Mike _explodes._

“Can we all just _stop”_ He stands from his seat, fists clenched tight _“Stop_ with all the talking and acting like you care and all the _bullshit-”_ _  
__  
__“Language!” "Michael!"_

 _“..._ about how the ‘ _Wheeler family has grown’_ because I _won’t_ be doing that ok?! I _can’t_ do that-”  
  


It’s Nancy staring at him wide eyed that stops him. He freezes- his Mom, holding her cutlery, eyebrows furrowed. His father, looking confused. His Nana has a peculiar look on her face and he isn’t sure what she’s thinking.

“..because Jane broke up with me.” 

There’s a moment, before his Nana lets out a relieved laugh, Karen and Ted following suit. Mike hears Nancy exhale next to him.  
  
“Oh Michael” His Nana quips “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not like everyone marries their first high school girlfriend”  
  
“Honey” it’s his mom this time “is this why you’ve been so down the last few days? Because you and Jane broke up?”  
  
“Something like that” Mike mutters  
  
“You know you can talk to me about anything Mike, you know you can always come to me”

“Maybe it was for the best” His dad finally speaks up, “That family has been a bit _odd_ since Lonnie left”

“ _Dad!_ ” Nancy interjects, her voice hard “That’s Jonathan and his family you’re talking about”  
  
Ted holds up his hands  
  
“Yeah” Mike butts in, his fists clenching again “And Lonnie is a piece of shit -”  
  
“ _Language_ ”  
  
“- and as far as I’m concerned, everyone is better off without him”  
  
“Michael, if you would listen to me a moment-”  
  
“I’m done” Mike stands, tossing his napkin on his plate _“Merry Christmas”_  
  
And with that, he makes his way out of the dining room leaving behind a table of confusion and concern.   
  
An awkwardness settles around the room again, broken only by Ted who mutters _“What did I do?”_ before shaking his head and picking up his newspaper once again. 

* * *

_  
__  
_Two hours after a dinner that definitely won’t be included in Karen’s favourite Christmas moments scrapbook ( _she hadn’t even had time to get out the polaroid_ , Mike thinks), Nancy knocks on her brother’s bedroom door. 

“Mike?” She asks through the wood “Are you awake?”  
  
“Come for more gossip?” he calls back  
  
Nancy sighs, trying the handle. _Locked._ “Come on Mike, let me in”

“Did I not do that _enough_ yesterday?”

She rattles the door handle excessively. A few moments later, Mike finally pulls open the door, scowl on his face.

“ _Five. Minutes.”_

She quickly brushes past him, making her way to his desk chair, firmly sitting down as if challenging him to make her move. Mike stands rigid by the door, arms crossed. He closes it

“ _What?_ ”

“Are we going to talk about it? Your show over dinner?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be smart? The show over dinner showed just how much I _don’t_ want to talk about it” He bites “Besides, what was up with your ‘ _She lives with Jonathan. They’re siblings’_ Have you ever been _praised_ for your subtlety Nancy?”  
  
“I was _trying_ to help you out!”

“Well I didn’t need your help. I was fine before you came into my room yesterday. Before you...you _looked._ Before you got involved. I’m _not_ your latest scoop Nancy. I’m not this, this thing you can report on. Why couldn’t you just leave me alone? Why did you just have to make this all _such a mess?!”_

Nancy is quiet for a moment, watching her brother. The last few years had been tough for all of them, they’d had to deal with loss and grief and forces that no _kids_ should ever have to face. They’d made it out, barely, but they were here on the other side, all a little lost because she didn’t think any of them expected they were going to make it through. She’d been there during all of it, seen Mike when he was angry, sad, acting out, grieving, but yet the look on his face now was unlike anything she’d ever seen on it before. He wasn’t fighting a Big Bad, this was no Mindflayer, no Demogorgon. He was fighting himself, he was angry at himself, _hating himself_ and he didn’t know how to deal with any part of it. She wondered how long he’d been dealing with this, how long these feelings had been pent up inside of him waiting to explode.  
  
 _“Mike”_ she chokes out, not giving him any warning as she stands up from the desk, and makes her way over to him pulling him into a hug. He struggles against her, arms still crossed against his chest, but she doesn’t let him go.  
  
He struggles.  
  
He pushes.

A beat.

  
His arms release and move up to around her neck. He melts into her embrace and  
  
 _sobs._

“Why?” It’s muffled through tears, “I don’t understand. Why am I-”

“It’s okay” It’s quiet. It’s calming.

“I said _those_ things...and El. I’m so ashamed.”

“Mike, you have _nothing_ to be ashamed of” Nancy reassures

“But I’m disgust-”

“No. No you’re not Mike. Don’t you _dare_ talk about yourself that way” She pauses “Does that mean Will’s disgusting too?”  
  
Mike stiffens at the name “Who told you about him?” he mutters, sniffing  
  
She rolls her eyes “Does everyone forget I’m dating Jonathan? And before you say anything, yes Will knows he told me”

 _Once again, the last to know_ he thinks

“Of _course_ he’s not disgusting-” Mike says  
  
"And _you're_ not either"  
  
“But what I’ve done, what I’ve said, I _hurt_ El, all because I couldn’t figure out that I- ”  
  
“Did you love her? El?” Nancy interrupts  
  
“I thought I did” he pulls away from her and wipes at his eyes “I really thought I did”  
  
“And that’s _fine_ ” she reassures him “That’s _absolutely_ fine” 

She looks up at him, using her own hands to wipe his eyes.

“Do you still want to go to Illinois?”

He says nothing.

“We can listen to _your_ mixtape in the car if you want?”

There’s a semblance of a laugh 

“I guess I did work really hard trying to make it _perfect_ ”  
  
“I think it will be good for you. Besides you get to see-”

“ _Stop”_ It isn’t said with malice this time, more a teasing tone, but Nancy puts up her hands in defence. “The rest of The Party are going to be there over New Year anyway so it’ll be nice for us all to be together again”

* * *

They leave earlier than planned the next morning. Mike had woken up at 6am and found he couldn't get back to sleep, so he’d woken Nancy up an hour later (and received a pillow to the face in response) but she’d gotten up grumbling, and told him to start packing the car.  
After he’d apologised to his mom for his outburst at dinner ( _“I’m sorry mom, just a lot on my mind”)_ and they’d both hugged Karen and Nana goodbye, he and Nancy made their way out to her yellow Fiat 131.  
She gave her usual _“seatbelt”_ reminder, Mike rolling his eyes as he buckled himself in.  
  
The drive was uneventful. They _did_ actually listen to Mike’s mixtape, Nancy rebranding it as their _‘Perfect Roadtrip Playlist’_ and he was pleasantly surprised to see she genuinely enjoyed the music. They stopped three times for snacks and gas, and just so Nancy could stretch her legs. Whilst the drive was mostly full of a comfortable silence, between listening to music and making their way through the snacks, Nancy _had_ thrown in a few teasing remarks for good measure "You're right Mike, these songs really _do_ make you think" "Track six sure is _something_ " “ _So, what are you going to do when you see Will?_ ”

  
  
When you see Will.  
  
When you _see Will._   
  
What are you going _to do?_

  
  
He knew the comment was in jest, but Mike really didn’t know. There was a knot in his stomach when he thought about it. He rested his head against the window, trying to lose himself in _Don’t Dream it’s Over._ _  
__  
_They arrived at the Byers’ just before twelve, a little earlier than expected. Neither he or Nancy had called ahead to say they were leaving - due to the early hour - but the sound of Nancy’s car alerted the family to their arrival. Mike saw a curtain twitch in the living room and as he was getting out of the car, he saw the front door open and Will came bounding out, El close behind. Before he even knew what he was doing, before he could stop himself, he made his way to Will engulfing him in a hug, not even caring about the inevitable fact that Nancy was smirking in the background.

“ _Will_ ” He exhales, “Merry Christmas” The moment is overwhelming, and he blinks away the tears that involuntarily pool in his eyes. He’s _so_ done with the amount of crying that has happened the last week.

For a moment, he considers he’d done the wrong thing, Will feeling rigid in his arms. He’s about to pull away when he feels him return the hug, 

“Merry Christmas, _Mike”_ Will’s voice is soft and Mike pulls him in tighter  
  
They’re interrupted by a voice, belonging to a third person that had joined them out in the front yard. A person Mike had missed, his head buried in Will’s shoulder ( _when did he become as tall as me,_ he catches himself thinking)  
  
“First you keep him on the phone during date night, and now _this._ I’m going to need my boyfriend back sometimes” the voice laughs  
  
Mike pulls away from Will, to see a dark haired, green eyed boy with a relaxed smile on his face, walking toward them.  
  
“You must be Michael” he holds out his hand “I’m Nick”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Follow us both on tumblr [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


	8. It's their home and I'm welcome no more

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He doesn’t want to be acting like this, he wants to be happy for Will. He can see how much better Will is doing, how much more open and happy he is but ever since he’d let himself recognise certain feelings, all he’d been thinking is how if he’d realised a few months earlier, let himself accept it, maybe it could’ve been polaroids of him kissing Will’s cheek on the shelf instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you all seem to like Nick, huh? We love him too and whilst we're glad he's getting lots of support, we're also terrified. ENJOY! We also have a playlist for the fic that we will be continuously updating! You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)

**December 26th, 1986. Benton, Illinois.** _  
  
“You must be Michael” he holds out his hand “I’m Nick”_

It wasn’t that Mike didn’t expect to meet Nick, he gathered it was a given. It was more that he hadn’t expected to meet Nick before he’d even entered The Byers household. So naturally, after greeting Will with a full embrace, only to see his boyfriend standing at the doorway, Mike Wheeler felt a little intimidated.

Which was _definitely_ something he would not be letting him know.

“It’s _Mike_ actually. Nice to finally meet you _Nicholas”_

He responds by taking Nick’s hand and squeezing a _little_ too hard. Will’s looking between the two, his face now reflecting an awkward smile. Mike looks away, not wanting to meet Nick’s gaze any longer, and finally acknowledges who else had joined them outside.

“El.”

“Mike.”

The small wave that he gives her receives a brief look of confusion from Will. Although the look is fleeting, Mike catches it, and flinches. He makes his way over to El, trying to seem as enthusiastic as he was before, and pulls her into a very awkward hug. It’s reminiscent of their first kiss in the school hall, the way it takes her off guard, and El stiffens slightly before slowly wrapping her arms around him. She relaxes slightly, giving his waist a small squeeze.  
  
“It’s good to see you” she whispers in his ear “I hope you’re doing better”  
  
He squeezes her back  
  
“A little bit” He tells her “I hope you’re okay, too”  
  
He feels her nod against him  
  
“We can talk more tonight” She says, pulling away from him with a small smile on her face.

“We weren’t expecting you guys until a little later” It’s Jonathan who speaks this time. He’d come out to greet them whilst El and Mike had been having their quiet conversation. He’s stood by Nancy, arm wrapped around her waist.

“Well, _someone_ ” she jokes, leaning over to give Mike a small poke in the ribs, “Couldn’t sleep. He was so excited to get here”

“ _No I wasn’t-_ I mean, no. Not that I wasn’t excited to get here. I just wasn’t _that_ excited...in that sense”

El and Nancy exchange a knowing look between themselves

“Right… Well it’s not a problem. Mom’s had to just run a few errands, _apparently_ they couldn’t wait until a few days after Christmas, but she should be back later” Will tells them, standing by his boyfriends side. Mike looks at Will - he’d been so focused on the concept of Will himself that he hadn’t taken the time to properly take him in. He _was_ taller, Mike noted, it wasn’t just the way he’d felt during their hug, and he looked happier too. He was dressed as usual, except for the addition of a blue letterman jacket which was too big for him, a giant yellow I was in the left corner. It looked out of place on Will.

“You do sports now?” Mike asks Will, gesturing to the jacket

“Actually, it’s mine. I’m on the Baseball team” It’s Nick that responds

“I wear it to his games” Will says, blushing slightly “He says it brings him good luck”  
  
“Well isn’t that just _a thing”_ Mike replies, forcing a grin, “Bet you win all those games don’t you Nick?”

“I think it’s cute” El adds

“ _You would_ ” Mike mutters under his breath, smile still present. 

“I don’t want to say my winning streak has gone up but my home -” Nick gives Will a grin

“Anyone hungry?” Will interrupts abruptly, shooting Nick a glance

“Yep”

“Me”

“ _Please”_

As they’re walking toward the house, Mike falls back to stand next to his sister. She's giving him an almost _guilty_ look.   
  
“Forgot to factor Nick into your plan huh, Nancy?” he says through gritted teeth

“Mike, I didn’t know he’d be here” She sounds genuinely apologetic "Jonathan said they've only been dating a few months, I didn't think he'd be here for _Christmas"_

“It's fine. Just. No more of _those_ comments ok? Not now.”

Before she can say anything else, they hear Jonathan calling from the front door  
  
"Are you guys coming?"  
  
Mike and Nancy share one more look, resigning themselves to silence.

And they make their way inside.

* * *

They’re all sitting around the table when Joyce Byers arrives home. She walks through the door, flustered and immediately starts to deflect the questions from her children _(mostly Jonathan)_ by making a show of greeting Mike and Nancy.  
  
Mike notices that, though she’d been incredibly welcoming as soon as she’d seen himself and his sister, she hadn’t really done the same for Nick. Instead, taking to ruffling his hair, the same way she had done to Will moments prior. It was a moment of familiarity, her hand moving habitually, and it was evident Nick was _comfortable_ here. Mike internally sighed, realising he was going to be dealing with a whole lot of this. Somehow, the thought of Will having a boyfriend hadn’t fully registered until this moment. Until he had seen the way that Nick fit in with the Byers, the way that he had nestled himself into their lives. Mike, for the first time since he’d met Will, felt like an outsider in the Byers home. He pushed some of his food around his plate, not wanting to watch the moment any longer. 

“Mike, Nancy, how was your Christmas?” Joyce asks, a soft smile on her face, taking a plate of food from Jonathan. He'd used leftovers from Christmas Day to create a homemade turkey pot pie. 

_Well, I broke Mom’s Christmas photo tradition, told my parents they won’t be getting grandkids, in some roundabout way. Oh and learnt an awful lot about myself whilst doing so. How about you?_

“It was okay. We had Nana this year” It’s Nancy that answers, taking a mouthful of Jonathan’s homemade pie.

“We had a houseful too with Nick over this year”

_Of course he was._

“Nick made some really nice Snickerdoodles with Will” El states, almost as a reminder to Joyce

“Oh of course! The mess they made in the kitchen however-”

“Mom! We cleared everything up”

“Will, honey, there was flour in places I didn’t realise it was possible to get flour”

Laughter spreads across the table and the chatter continues. Mike considers that maybe he shouldn’t have come. It would have been easier if El had just told him _“No Mike. Don’t come.”_ And he wishes she had. There were still five days until The Party arrived in Illinois and he wonders if there’s anyway he could pull some strings. Lucas’ parents were pretty easygoing, he was sure if he managed to call him, Lucas would be able to convince his family to get him here early, then he could call Max and Dustin and they could be here tomorrow. _Easy._ But he knew, in reality, it was just going to be himself, Will and Nick for the next few days.

And El.

_Great._

* * *

It’s raining by the time it hits late afternoon  
  
“It’s not really a great day to explore the wonders that Benton has to offer” Will says, gesturing outside “Maybe we could stay in and watch a movie. Or play a game"  
  
“I actually thought of some ideas for a campaign” Mike says, shrugging “It’s no big deal, I just thought we could play at some point, I brought my set”  
  
“Oh” Will lets out, the tone of his voice causing a lump in Mike’s throat “Nick doesn’t play D&D. And El is definitely out of practice”  
  
“Yeah, it was never something I was very good at” Nick jumps in, shrugging “Not my thing”

 _Of course it’s not._  
  
“It’s okay” Mike says, trying to act nonchalant and feeling anything but  
  
 _Is this how Will felt that whole summer?_ He thinks  
  
“When the rest of The Party arrives, we can test out the new campaign then, right Mike?” Will says cheerfully “It’ll be nice to play together again”  
  
“Sure, Will. Sounds good”  
  
“I want to play a game” El chimes in from where she’s sat on the couch “What shall we play instead?  
  
“We have _Monopoly_ , _Clue_ , _Game of Life_ ?” Will lists the games on his fingers  
  
“Game of Life!” Nick suggests eagerly. Will informs Mike with a grin that it’s one of Nick’s favourite games and _‘he always wins’._ _  
__  
_Mike grumbles a _‘Sure’_ and Will heads to his room to get the game. He comes back a few moments later, board game in hand and Jonathan and Nancy on his tail announcing that they were going to be playing too. They all take their places on various chairs in the living room, Nick and Will sharing the armchair by the fireplace. 

They set up the game relatively quickly, Will - and Nick - giving Mike a brief reminder of how to play. He’d only played the game a few times before, but it seemed to be a Byers _\- and Nick -_ tradition. He tried to not think too much about how that made him feel. When he was given his little car with his little blue peg in it, the feelings of wanting to be anywhere else but here had increased tenfold.  
  
Will decides to just be the banker claiming that he _‘plays the game so much everyone else can have a turn not worrying about extra finances’_ and they settle in for a long game of life.  
  
They all take their turns with the spinner, El getting the highest with a 9. She decides to go down the college route but sighs when she’s immediately hit with debt. 

Nick, who spins next, decides to go for the _‘business’_ route. He gets a 3 on his first turn and immediately lands on _“Meet future spouse. Pay $500 for a diamond ring”_ . He reluctantly hands over the money to Will.  
  
“You don’t need a diamond right?” he says to him, a grin on his face as he does so.  
  
Will blushes, taking the money with a disgustingly cute smile on his face.

“Now, now Nick, we all care about Will. He only deserves the best” Nancy states, glancing ever so quickly to Mike, as if to make sure he’d heard her.

“Yeah” Jonathan laughs “I need to know my brother is being looked after-” 

“Ok, _my_ turn” Mike leans over the board, swiftly wiping Nick’s spin away. Like El, he also decides on the college route, by no means influenced by the choices of other players. He lands on one ( _“Bad luck Michael, but at least you get to spin again”)_ before finally spinning a 7 but having to pay Will $500 for a ‘ _Gambling Loss!’_

The game continues, and Mike convinces himself the game is rigged against him. Nancy landing on pay day after pay day after rather fittingly also following the college route and landing on ‘ _Journalist’_ as a career

It’s when Nick lands on his first _“Baby girl”_ space that Mike snaps  
  
“A girl! Will, what would we call her?” Nick says as he adds the little pink peg to his car

“It’s actually a one player game _Nicholas”_ Mike interjects before Will can reply “Let Will focus on his own _lif-_ game”  
  
An awkwardness settles over the room, broken swiftly by Nancy - he owes her one - who announces _“my turn!”_ and reaches over to spin the spinner. 

Nick, to Mike’s delight, _didn’t_ win this game. El landed on a _revenge_ space, taking $100,000 from her older brother. Jonathan reluctantly handed over the cash, pushing El ahead in the game, a lead she kept until the end.  
  
It’s around 10pm by the time they finish, El and Nancy packing up the game, suggesting that they play again when The Party arrive. Will agrees, promptly calling a huge game night for a few days time to which everyone gave an enthusiastic response.  
  
When the game is all packed away, Nick stands, bidding everyone a goodnight. Will tells everyone he’ll just be a minute, following Nick out of the front door and onto the front porch. 

Once Nick is gone, _finally,_ Mike lets out a sigh of relief. He’s looking forward to having some time with Will, _just Will,_ for the rest of the evening and he finds himself relaxing into the couch, smiling to himself. He grows restless however, when Will doesn’t come back inside after what feels a lifetime. ‘ _They’ve been all over each other all night, surely they don’t need anymore time,_ he thinks, _Hurry. Up.’_ _  
__  
_Will returns 2 minutes later, a smile on his face ( _a stupid smile,_ Mike thinks) looking bashful. 

“What kept you so long?” It comes out more aggressive than Mike intends. 

“Nick always gets a little sappy when he’s saying goodbye” He laughs a little to himself, seemingly not picking up on Mike’s tone of voice  
  
“It’s almost like he won’t be seeing you again tomorrow” He rolls his eyes, a look Will thankfully misses, walking back over to where he’d been sitting “Thank goodness you were wearing his jacket, you might have frozen to death”

Nancy shoots him a sharp look after subtly hitting him on the arm.

El, oblivious to the tension in Mike’s voice says “Will practically _lives_ in that jacket. He wears it all the time now”  
  
“Thanks for the input, El” 

Once Will is back in his seat, Mike notices it looks too big for him alone and catches himself thinking _what if I joined-_

_No._

He shakes the thought out of his head before it can grow any bigger. He becomes increasingly aware of the gap currently between himself and El. If he thought about it, he didn’t know why they weren’t telling anyone, not really. He knew it would make everything so much easier, and he wouldn’t have to feel so on edge and awkward around her, but admitting they’d broken up, saying it _out loud,_ he just wasn’t sure if it was something that he was completely ready to talk about, considering what would inevitably follow.   
  
  


He sighs and edges closer to El on the couch.

* * *

**December 27th, 1986. Benton, Illinois.**

  
Mike wakes up first the next morning. He’s on a camp bed in Will’s room and despite the unease he’d felt, the long day had finally caught up with him and he’d fallen asleep the second his head hit the pillow. He doesn’t get up yet, lying on his back and looking up at Will’s ceiling. He has glow in the dark stars up and Mike notices that they’re in the Aries constellation which makes him smile. His new room wasn’t _that_ different from his room in Hawkins and whenever Mike had visited he’d found such comfort in the familiarity of knowing Will was still _Will._ There were a few new additions now, a small rainbow flag up on his notice board and a few more pictures scattered throughout the room. Alongside the pictures of his family and The Party, there were now pictures of Nick.  
  
Mike looks away from those ones.   
  
He hates how unsettled the fact that Nick had become such a huge part of his life makes him feel. He doesn’t want to be acting like this, he _wants_ to be happy for Will. He can see how much better Will is doing, how much more open and happy he is but ever since he’d let himself recognise _certain_ _feelings_ , all he’d been thinking is how if he’d realised a few months earlier, let himself accept it, maybe it could’ve been polaroids of _him_ kissing Will’s cheek on the shelf instead.  
  
He’s brought out of his ruminating by a groggy _“Morning”_ _  
_ _  
_Mike rolls over on his side to face Will in his bed.  
  
“Good morning” he smiles at the way Will’s hair is mused  
  
“Have you been up long?”  
  
“Not really” Mike shrugs  
  
There’s silence for a while  
  
“I was thinking today we could go to a diner I like” Will tells him “Me and Nick go there a lot and we want to show you the new places we found since your last visit. I get it if you want to spend some time with El, though” he adds as an afterthought  
  
“No, I'll come. I came here for you- and El. Both of you”

“Really? I just thought-”

“Will I want to go to the diner”

“Great” he gives Mike a grin “I’ll call Nick a little later to tell him the plan”  
  
“I mean, we _could_ always ask if El wants to come too”

Mrs Byers has left the house by the time they brace the cold from the December morning and get out of bed. Will, who had slept in a t-shirt and pyjama pants, picks up Nick’s letterman jacket from his desk chair and wraps himself up in it to keep warm. Mike, once again, feeling a pang of jealousy, grabs his own jumper, and makes a move to follow Will into the kitchen.

There’s a note on the fridge from Joyce _‘running more errands, see you later’_ and Mike asks Will where it is she keeps going.

He shrugs “We don’t know. She tells us it’s work related and important but won't answer any more questions. Jonathan thinks she’s seeing someone”  
  
“I sure do” both boys turn to the kitchen doorway to see Jonathan and Nancy dressed and heading toward the front door “She was cagey like this before she introduced us to Bob. $10 says in a few weeks she’s introducing us to a guy”  
  
Nancy shakes her head at her boyfriend  
  
“Morning boys” she says “Sleep well?” she gives Mike a pointed look as she says it  
  
 _“Fine”_ he gives her a look right back.  
  
“We’re heading into one of the next towns over today” Jonathan says, unaware of the tension between the siblings “We’ll be back around dinner. You boys gonna be okay?”  
  
They both nod, Will mentioning about the diner and they say goodbye as Jonathan and Nancy leave shouting a quick _“See you later”_ down the hall to El as well.  
  
They have a light breakfast as they'd decided to head to the diner for lunch. Will gives Nick a quick call to let him know the plan for the day and he agrees to meet them there, the diner is closer to Nick’s house than here, Will provides as an explanation. Despite Mike’s attempts to get El to come along too, she insisted she had things to do (“ _I have homework. Lots of homework. Will probably take a long time.”)_

“That’s a shame El, that you’re so busy over Christmas break.” He states bluntly, arms folded, leaning against her door frame.

“The teachers are very strict in Benton” She walks over to her record player, filtering through her collection of records. She takes out a few; _Madonna, Duran Duran, Jim Croce,_ before picking out an album from _The Cure._

“Guess you’ll have to miss out on seeing The Party too, you know, when they arrive”

She stills, record in hand, for a brief moment, before taking the Vinyl out of its holder and placing it on the player “No Mike, I’m just busy today”  
  
He rolls his eyes at her  
  
 _So much for ‘friends don’t lie’  
_  
  


* * *

  
The walk to the diner isn’t awkward _per se_ , just that there seemed to be a lot of small talk that was atypical for them. Mike notices that Benton looks very different in the Winter, and Will seems to thrive here. _(“Du Quoin, a few towns over, really puts on a show for Christmas. We’ll have to go next year” “Sure. Maybe”)_ He looks calm in a way that he hadn’t the last few years in Hawkins, even when he and El returned for Christmas last year. _(“I think you’ll like the diner.”)_ He swings his arms as he walks, almost a spring in his step, something that’s in stark contrast to how Mike himself was behaving. It wasn’t that he was doing this intentionally, but Mike found himself not being able to shake the thought that Benton was simply better for Will. 

In _multiple_ ways.  
  
Nick’s already there when they arrive at the diner- decked in black jeans and a dark jumper, with neon colours speckled throughout. _How is he not freezing?_ Mike thinks to himself, wrapping his scarf a few more loops around his neck before throwing his hands into his pockets. Nick spots them, giving a small wave before making his way over to Will, giving him a quick side hug (and to Mike’s displeasure, giving him a heavy handed pat on the shoulder)

“Hope you’re ready Michael. This place is pretty popular. We could be waiting a while” Nick states with amusement in his voice. Will looks down, giving a slight laugh and Mike feels like he’s missing the joke. Nick makes a dramatic move to look through the window, shaking his head. He turns his attention back to Will for a moment, shrugging (Will _still_ finding the exchange terribly funny) before opening the door, holding it open allowing them to enter before Nick walks through himself.

The diner is completely empty. 

_Hilarious._

The waitress greets them with a familiar smile before Nick asks for _‘A table for three’_

“Hey guys, any preference?”

“Wherever you can fit us in, Bailey”

Mike’s heart sinks when he notices that _Bailey_ is leading them over to a booth, two menus in hand. He debates making a move, to get to the booth first, in the off chance that _maybe_ he won’t be the one seated alone or finding _some kind_ of excuse why he has to be the one sitting with Will _‘It’s his first Christmas out of Hawkins. He might be homesick’_ but as Will and Nick sit down on one side, leaving Mike to sit opposite them, he realises he’s missed the window of opportunity.

It becomes evident very quickly that the waitress is familiar with Will and Nick ( _“Do you guys even need the menu at this point?” she laughs)_ and Mike can’t help but feel he’s almost intruding. She places down the menus giving one to himself, before placing the other between the pair. She gives a quick _‘I'll be back in a sec hun’_ before retreating to the kitchen.

He stares down at the menu, the words ‘ _HAVE A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS WITH: STAR-LINE DINER’_ proudly displayed on the top. He glances down, there isn’t a lot on offer, the usual things you’d expect to find in a diner, but he guesses that anywhere that proclaims to have _‘The best milkshakes in Benton!’_ is probably worth a visit or two.

“Hey guys? What do you-” He pauses, looking over to Will and Nick opposite. They’re sitting close, using their outside hands to point at the menu. He knows they’re holding hands under the table, the space between them is evident enough and Mike notes that it’s almost as if they’re in their own world. He sighs, looking back down at the menu, deciding to take a risk on the ‘ _Tantalising Turkey and Cranberry Sauce Sandwich’_ and a ‘ _Super Strawberry Milkshake’_  
  
They’re still looking at the menu when _Time After Time_ by Cyndi Lauper plays through the jukebox. Will looks up from the food choices to give Mike a huge grin.  
  
“Remember-”  
  
“The Snowball” Mike finishes for him, a similar grin lighting up his face too  
  
“That was when you told me to dance with Megan Sullivan” Will says, laughing at the memory “I was so awkward with her. When I asked you if I should, I wanted you to say no”  
  
“Now I know why, I sometimes wish I had”  
  
“It was a good night though” Will adds, smiling at the memory “We got to see Dustin’s hair at least”  
  
“Steve really got to him with that hairspray, huh? It looked like a bird was nesting in it”  
  
“He danced with _Nancy_ . He was going on about how pretty she is for days” Will rolls his eyes  
  
“I had to tune him out after a while, no one wants to hear that about their sister”  
  
Both boys laugh, they lock eyes and something shifts. Will’s orbit changes, just for a moment and it’s Mike that he’s lost in his own little world with now. Mike looks at Will, revelling in the comfort of these memories, losing himself in the way that despite they now lived in different states time and distance couldn’t touch their past, their history, all the wonderful moments that they’d shared.  
  
“What’s The Snowball?”  
  
Both Will and Mike turn to face Nick, a sheepish look on both their faces. They’d gotten so lost in the moment that they’d almost forgotten they weren’t alone.  
  
“It’s the winter dance at Hawkins Middle” Will supplies  
  
“1984 was _clearly_ the best Snowball” Mike says “That was the day you first properly met El”  
  
“Wait El? As in your sister?”

_Huh?_

Mike looks over to Will, his face panicked, his eyes almost searching for a response, any kind of response. ‘ _He doesn’t know’_ Mike realises _‘Will hasn’t said anything’_

“Oh, well-” Will says  
  
“El’s dad didn’t know about her, not until we were 13” Mike butts in “Her dad was the Hawkins police chief and she came to Hawkins to find him after her mom died” 

“Yeah!” Will adds “Her dad and my mom became a thing, and then El’s dad died and we moved here not long after my mom took her in”  
  
“You never told me” Nick says after a moment of silence  
  
Will looks down for a split second, before looking up at Nick with a newfound confidence.  
  
“Her being adopted doesn’t change the fact she _is_ my _sister_. Besides, El doesn’t like to talk about her dad. His death was sudden and a lot for her to process. Please _don't_ bring it up”  
  
Nick raises his hands in defeat "Okay" He replies “Seems like a lot sure happened in Hawkins” 

“That’s one word for it” Mike mutters  
  
The conversation is _\- thankfully -_ halted by Bailey coming back to take their order.  
  
Lunch goes well, Mike agreeing that the milkshakes were in fact _‘the best milkshakes in Benton.’_ There’s no more talk of El and her dad, but Will and Mike share some of the _better_ memories of Hawkins, Nick listening intently.  
  
‘I’ll be right back’ Nick says, after they'd just finished the tale of _Dustin, Suzie and a Never Ending Story (not mentioning the part about the Russian military base, of course)_ and excuses himself to go to the bathroom.  
  
“So what’s good for dessert around here?” Mike asks once he’s left  
  
“Budge up” Will says, standing and making his way to Mike’s side of the booth. Mike moves up, giving Will room to join him on the seat. Will pulls the dessert menu out of the plastic holder that was on the table when they sat down. He opens it in front of them both, telling Mike “ _I_ __f_ you think the milkshakes were good, wait until you try their cake and ice cream.” _ It’s here where Nick finds them when he returns, sat comfortably next to each other laughing about the dramatic way Star-line had described their ‘ _Choco-riffic Fudgetastic Extravaganza’_ . Nick sits opposite them, on the now empty booth seat.  
  
“That’s way too big for one person to eat” He says as he sits down “Remember last time we tried, Will?” he laughs

“That’s true. Definitely made a mistake there” Will says, turning to Mike “Want to share?”  
  
Mike nods, feeling his face flush. His eyes glance briefly to Nick who’s now resting his chin against his right palm, already looking back. Nick raises his eyebrows briefly, causing Mike to pull his gaze away, and look back to Will, “Don’t you wanna share with...”

“It’s fine right Nick? I mean what kind of hosts would we be if we made you suffer the consequences of the single serving _Extravaganza_?” Will chuckles, before looking to the over side of the booth for confirmation

“Of course. I’m not hungry for dessert anyway. I’ll just grab a coffee”  
  


They leave the diner half an hour later, saying bye to Bailey who gives them a _‘See you soon, boys”_ , Nick offers to walk Will home. Apparently it’s _tradition_ after their ‘diner dates’  
  
“It’s okay,” Will says, shaking his head “Mike’s here today. He’ll keep me safe from the big bad people of Benton” he tells Nick, laughing  
  
“I’ll do my best” Mike adds, laughing along “It’s kind of my specialty” _More than he knows apparently._  
  
“I’ll call you later?” Nick asks  
  
Will nods at his boyfriend  
  
“Of course” he looks around at the empty street and leans forward, giving Nick a quick kiss on the cheek “Would you mind calling a little bit earlier, tonight? Mike and I need a nice long catch up”  
  
Nick agrees before bidding both boys a goodbye, turning and walking in the opposite direction.  
  
The walk back to the Byers is more comfortable than their earlier walk. The conversation flowed easier, Mike asking when they could go back for more of _Benton’s best milkshakes_ and _‘I wonder if we could fit in a trip Du Quoin with The Party this year’._ Will looks upset when he has to tell Mike that the lights will have been taken down for the year by that point, but his face lights up again when Mike tells him, very enthusiastically, that they’ll _have_ to see them next year. 

“We _could_ take a bit of a detour and see some of the lights around the neighbourhood though” Will suggests, also a shy tone to his voice.

“Then lead way, Byers”

* * *

  
  
The peace and tranquility of their walk around the town was disrupted the moment they arrived home. They opened the front door to Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy in the living room, mother and son mid argument. Will notices that El is standing in the hallway, keeping out of sight but wanting to know what was going on.  
  
“Why wont you tell me why you were there?” Jonathan asks Joyce, face angry  
  
“I _did”_ Joyce replies “I was running errands”  
  
“Wait” Will interrupts “What’s going on?”  
  
“We went to Sesser today” Jonathan tells his brother “And mom was there, running _errands”_  
  
“Jonathan-” Nancy tries  
  
“No, Nancy. She’s keeping secrets and I’m bored of it”  
  
“You’re okay aren’t you mom?” Will asks “Whatever you’re doing, you’d tell us if you weren’t okay”  
  
“Baby, I am _fine”_ Joyce reassures him “I had errands to run for work, and then I met an old friend. Hardly a crime”  
  
“Wait” Jonathan’s taken aback “An old friend? Doesn’t-”  
  
“End of discussion, Jonathan. I’m going to get changed out of these clothes and then I’ll get dinner started” and with that she leaves them in the living room, giving El a _‘Hi Sweetheart’_ as she heads toward her bedroom.  
  
“You didn’t need to shout at her like that” Nancy tells Jonathan, face angry “She can make her own choices and decisions”  
  
“I just don’t know why she’s keeping secrets from us” He says, sitting down on the couch and sighing  
  
“She might not be hiding anything” Nancy reassures “I know we’ve been through a lot but that doesn’t mean there's always got to be something wrong. You’ve got to trust that whatever she is doing, she knows what’s best” She sits down next to her boyfriend, placing a comforting hand on his arm and rubbing it.  
  
“Mom wouldn’t put any of us in danger” El says, stepping fully into the living room now “If there is something, she’ll tell us when she needs to tell us”  
  
Will nods in agreement and Jonathan sighs again, clearly outnumbered by his siblings  
  
The sound of the phone ringing disrupts them all from the serious conversation. Jonathan gestures to the hallway  
  
“That’s been going off since we got home” he tells Will “It’s Nick. He said you asked him to call you earlier today”  
  
Will curses under his breath, bee-lining for the phone, telling Mike he won’t be long.

His eyes follow Will as he exits the room, sighing to himself before taking a seat on the couch, El using the opportunity to make her way over, sitting next to him.

“Have a _nice_ day Mike?”

“Get all that _homework_ done El?”

Mike misses the look that Jonathan and Nancy give them.

“It was ok.” He starts, almost dismissive “It was good. Great chocolate cake”

El smiles softly, “I’m happy you had a good day”

When Will returns 20 mins later, he looks flustered, though not in the good way Mike had become accustomed to seeing him over the last couple of days. He asks if everything is ok, receiving a _“Why wouldn’t it be?”_ in return. Before Mike can press, Joyce calls out that dinner is ready and they make their way to the kitchen. 

They sit round the table, Will sitting opposite him, El on at his left. _He’s unfocussed,_ Mike notes, looking across to Will, who was currently tapping his fork against his food. He had a pensive look on his face, that doesn't change, even as he replies in short answers to Joyce’s questions about what they all got up to today.

Mike thinks back to when he left the living room, answering Nick’s phone call. As frustrating as Mike found the guy, he hoped that everything was alright, for _Will’s_ sake. He feels someone looking at him, and turns to his left to find El looking back, eyebrows furrowed. Mike shifts his eyes back towards Will, and El follows. It’s moments later, Will sharply turns to El, a scowl on his face, before taking a breath and forcing a smile.

El frowns before returning to her dinner. Will’s still dismissive. Mike feels uneasy and wonders how the rest of the family haven’t picked up on the atmosphere.

He looks round the table. Joyce seems just as absent as Will is, whilst Jonathan and Nancy still seem to be tense after the confrontation earlier.

“So Will,” Mike begins, testing the waters, “Nick get home ok?”

“Huh? Oh yeah he did. He wanted to make sure I did, too”  
  
“Wanted to confirm you didn’t meet the _big bad of Benton”_ Mike raises his eyebrows and it makes Will smile.

“He didn’t need to worry about my safety” Will adds “not when I’m with _you”_ _  
__  
_Mike feels his face get hot, but he grins at him, enjoying their back and forth.

“Forever at your service, _Will the Wise”_

The sound of a fork dropping next to him, makes him consider what he’s just said. The boys look at each other before quickly dropping their gaze back to their plates. 

The rest of the dinner is finished in silence.

* * *

“I’ve only got a few pages left of ‘ _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_.’ Is it ok if I finish it whilst we talk? I’m about to start Chapter 33 and kind of need to find out if the end is coming for the crew”

“Knock yourself out” Mike replies, absent-mindedly. He’s on his back on the camp bed again, staring up at the ceiling constellations. He glances at Will, as he grabs his book from his side table. Coming to Benton, seeing Will, it had been a lot more difficult than he’d expected- and that wasn’t including the additions of maintaining, in Will’s eyes, a relationship with El, and of course, _Nicholas._

_Maybe I should say something_

That was new. Yesterday, Mike wouldn't have even considered this option, being so concerned with keeping everything to himself, stopping Nancy from saying anything, _definitely_ stopping El from saying _every_ thing. At this point he’d factored that it was likely Joyce had some semblance of an idea as to what was going on, she had to have known that El had broken up with him, which only left Jonathan- who had definitely heard from Nancy. So, that was everyone,  
  
except,  
  
 _Will.  
  
_ He looks back again at Will. Still reading the book. Still completely oblivious to everything going on in Mike’s mind. _Could I say something? Not tell him- how I_ feel _, I still have Nick to consider. But I could say something. I could tell him about_ me.

He knew Will would be fine, but he still couldn’t shake the pit of fear that had settled in his stomach. He stares back at the ceiling, closes his eyes tight, mentally preparing himself.  
  
 _Here goes nothing._

“So” Mike starts, tentatively breaching the waters “How was again that you met Nick?”  
  
“He started at school in September” Will says, turning the page, not giving Mike a glance  
  
"Oh, yeah" He says "I remember"  
  
A pause.  
  
 _Let's try that again._

“Did you know? That you were gay, I mean. Before you met him”  
  
Will closes the book, taking time to think over his response.  
  
“Yes” He says finally “I think I’d known for a while, but I didn’t want to admit it. Everything my dad said, Troy from school, just the attitude of a lot of people in Hawkins. Here is different though. It’s still not always the best but they _are_ more progressive”  
  
“How did you know? _When_ did you know?”  
  
“I’d always known _something,_ I guess. When Jonathan or you guys would talk about girls I realised I just wasn’t interested. I noticed that the way I looked at boys was the way people thought I should look at girls”  
  
Mike gives him a sly grin  
  
“Oh? And which boys were you looking at exactly?”  
  
“No one, not really. Just. It doesn’t matter, it never would have amounted to anything. Teenage crushes, right? Besides, I have Nick now” he pauses and then,  
  
“How are you and El?”  
  
The question takes Mike off guard.  
  
“Good?” it comes out more like a question “She’s good. We’re good. I’m good”  
  
 _Why am I so awkward_ , he thinks  
  
“You haven’t spent much time with her since you’ve been here”  
  
“Because I’m here to see you, too. I _have_ missed you, Will, I meant that when I said it. Hawkins really does suck without you there. I know we haven’t been as close the last few months, but I want to fix that. You’re my best friend”  
  
“I’ve missed you too” Will says quietly  
  
“Thank you for trusting me with everything” Mike adds “I know it can’t be easy”  
  
“Thank you for listening. I’m glad we can talk about these things. This coming out process? It never ends, and even if you think people will be fine with it, with _you_ , the fear that they won’t never goes away”  
  
“Well, you’ve always got me. All of us. And I’m glad it is more accepted here, I hope one day thats how it is everywhere”  
  
“Chicago even has parade days. Nick says they’re called gay pride parades”  
  
“Oh” Mike replies. He pauses. He breathes.

“Maybe I could come with you one time”

  
  
“Yeah” Will agrees, giving Mike a curious look “Maybe we can take a trip to Chicago next time all of The Party visits”  
  
Mike rolls over in bed, turning to face Will. _Well this is it._ He takes a breath, steadies himself before continuing

  
“No, Will. I mean, yeah, that would be fun but. Maybe one day, I could _come with you_ to one of the parades”

  
  
Will’s head turns to look at him so quickly it would be funny if Mike wasn’t _terrified._ _  
__  
_“Mike” Will breathes out, sitting up “What? Are you - _what?”_ _  
__  
_“Yes? I think so? It’s confusing because of El. I _did_ love her, but I’ve been thinking, _a lot,_ and I think I also - _shit_ \- you’re right, this _is hard”_ he rubs a hand over his eyes _“Shit”_ _  
__  
_Will climbs out of his own bed and sits down next to where Mike is in the camp bed.  
  
“It _is_ hard” he agrees, putting his arm around Mike’s shoulders.  
  
“I just don’t want El to ever think I didn’t love her, that I didn’t _care_ . That I was pretending”  
  
“It’s El. Of course she won't. Besides, you can like both, that could be how you feel”

  
  
_“What?”_

“You can like boys and girls” Will tells him “It’s called bisexuality. Nick identifies like that, too”  
  
Mike lets out a breath. Will, arm still round his shoulders, gives it a comforting rub.  
  
“But also, you don’t have to put a label on it. Not if you don’t want to. You can just be _you,_ Mike. It doesn’t automatically change who you are as a person. It doesn’t make it any less _you.”_  
  
“Thank you, Will” he rubs his hand over his eyes again “Trying to sort this all out in my head, me thinking I’d been lying to El, the way I’d been treating you. It was starting to drive me crazy”  
  
“Well” Will says “Crazy together, right?”  
  
“Yeah” Mike laughs _“Crazy together”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Megan Sullivan: 'The Cute Girl' in The Snowball scene. As far as we know she doesn't actually have a canon name- a few people have said Jennifer Hayes but for the purposes of this, we've gone by the Script that was released around Emmy Nominations.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Follow us both on tumblr [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


	9. I pull my eyes out, hold my breath and wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Besides, it’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just-”
> 
> “I’m Will’s boyfriend?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chats are had, feelings are reluctantly shared and a revelation is made  
> Enjoy.
> 
> We have a playlist for the fic that we will be continuously updating! You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)
> 
> \- [Will's Mixtape](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/15hvV7sn9hCFpnusL8u6pI?si=1YHK49MbQdmsr9QLpgpeww)  
> \- [Mike and Nancy's 'Perfect' Roadtrip Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0P6qDw3D7nF0iirhv3maia?si=M7d9iSCZQHyPXlUgy314Jw)

**December 28th 1986. Benton, Illinois.**

**_“Max? … Took a gamble that you’d be there after last week's milk incident … yes everything is fine I just need to keep it down it’s early …oh I’m not bothered if I disturbed you_ ”**

The sound of muffled voices cause Will to stir. He blinks as he wakes, rubbing his hands firmly across his eyes before stretching out. He lay still for a moment, thinking of the events of the night before

_“Mike- What? Are you - what?”_ _  
__  
__“Yes? I think so?”_

_Not exactly the conversation I expected to be having during a long overdue catch-up_ he thinks before turning to face Mike’s camp bed, finding he wasn’t there

**_“You could have just told me, you know?! … what’s that supposed to mean? … Oh, screw letting me figure out on my own!”_ **

And that would be where Mike was.

He debated trying to get back to sleep, it was only 9:10am after all, no-one could scold him for getting a little extra sleep over the holidays. However, he was already quite awake and, despite Mike’s efforts at keeping things down, he wasn’t exactly succeeding on that front so he decided he may as well get up. He gives one final stretch out before pulling off his covers and walking into the hallway.

Mike’s standing there, leaning against the wall, receiver against his right ear, his free hand pressed against his forehead, bangs pushed up. Will gives a smile, he just looks more _Mike._ Not that he hadn’t been himself over the last couple of days but something had just seemed to be _off-_ which in hindsight, now made perfect sense. He’d considered how he himself had been acting when he was starting to _figure_ _things out._ Sure he wasn’t in the slightly complex situation of having a girlfriend and having to consider if what you felt for her was genuine, but he supposed really, if he replaced El with Nick in this scenario it would be the same.

He debated letting Mike know he was there, but took to observing him for a moment

**_“All I’m saying Max is … no let me say my … Max!”_ **

He chuckles softly to himself, as Mike furiously rolls his eyes, he hands acting out motions as he speaks, almost as if she were right there with them

**_“Can I? … Finally! As I was saying, if you’d told me that night in the basement or after the arcade I could have been feeling an awful lot better an awful lot quicker …”_ **

_Wait, the arcade? What happened at the arcade?_

**_“ … of course not! Still wouldn’t have. Seriously that’s the kind of person you take me for? ...completely besides the point-… Max no I’m not doing that to-”_ **

“Will!" Mike has noticed him, surprised by his presence "Hi. sorry did I wake you?”

Will feels his face flush at being caught listening in, Mike’s doing the same. If he listens carefully, he can just about hear Max laugh down the phone.

“No it’s ok, I probably should have got up a while ago anyway. You’re calling Max? _You_?"

“Oh I’m just as surprised as you are by this ( _“Really Mike?”- Max says through the receiver.)_ Give me a second ok?”

He says a few parting words to Max, niceties undercut with phrases that were typical of their friendship ( _“Yeah, yeah. See you in a few days. Unfortunately”)_ before hanging up the phone, bringing his full attention back to Will.

“Hey” Mike smiles

“Hi” Will returns

“Sorry for waking you. I know I’ve already said it but-“

“It’s ok Mike. Not sure El will be as forgiving if you woke her too, though. She’s always in a foul mood until she’s had her _Eggos_ ”

“Oh don’t I know it” he laughs. “One time I showed up to the cabin before breakfast and my knocking on the door woke up her _and_ the chief. It wasn’t pretty”  
  
Will laughs with him, before a sobering look appears on his face

“How are you, after last night? We got pretty serious”

“A little better. Lighter, I think? It’s strange, I still feel like I can’t _say it._ I know it’s there, and knowing that- that what I feel, it’s ok, that’s such a weight off. But if I say it, as in put a word to it-”

“And that’s fine. And you were able to tell me. I’m glad you were able to tell me”

“Me too” he’s looking down, a small smile on his face

“Hey, at least you can get back on track with El again right? Now that you’ve figured things out a bit?”

Will notices that Mike flinches for a moment, the same time, his stomach drops

“Yeah Will,” Mike states, noting it’s almost half hearted “that’ll be good”

* * *

The afternoon finds them at _Rend Lake._ It being December means it’s not really a time for swimming but El likes the nature trails and jumped at the opportunity to head out with them after finishing her _homework_ late last night. Will had suggested that Mike ask her, as part of his "get your relationship back on track" plan, which put Mike in a _slightly_ uncomfortable position. But, in Will's eyes, and by that logic Nick's, Mike and El were still together so it was best to go along with it. After all, though they weren't in a relationship, they were still friends.   
  
Mike had been out to the lake the last time he and The Party had visited during the summer but he hadn’t expected it to be so different now Will had a boyfriend. As they were walking towards one of the many beaches at Rend Lake, Nick took it upon himself to point out, to Mike's displeasure, places that he and Will had spent time together before.  
  


 _‘Here was where we came after Ashley’s party’_ _  
__  
__“Look! That’s the place where we went on our first boat ride”_ _  
__  
__‘My favourite part is the blackberry nature trail, Will and I made Joyce a lovely pie with the ones we picked’_ _  
__  
_

Mike didn’t dislike Benton, and he enjoyed seeing the places that Will and El now called part of their home. However, he didn’t remember ever agreeing to the _‘Nick and Will Date Tour of 1986.’_ So he smiled, walking silently beside them, trying to tune out Nick’s never ending list of notable places and focussed on the fact that in a few days the rest of The Party would be here and he wouldn’t have to deal with this alone anymore. _  
_ _  
_Eventually, after being given _the tour_ , they find a nice spot on the beach to sit, and set down their blankets. It hadn’t rained much the last two days so the sand, whilst cold, wasn’t wet - to Mike’s delight. _Well there’s one positive._ He sat down, El on the blanket next to him, propping himself up on his elbows, shivering. Nick has taken his shoes and socks off, paddling in the water, causing Mike to frown _‘Seriously? Does he just not get cold?’_ he thinks, his question answered as he watches him begin to make his way back to where Mike and El were currently sitting, Will in tow, shaking his head. It wasn’t that Mike got amusement out of the fact Nick’s blatant attempt at showing off, hadn’t exactly worked in his favour.

It was more that it was _pretty funny_. 

“You could try to pretend like you like him” He looks over to El, she’s rummaging through her bag. 

“I am. I’m being civil”

“Friends don’t-”

“ _Really?_ You’re pulling that? _You?”_ Mike turns back away, now fully laying down, knees raised, hands resting on his stomach “Pretty sure that’s all you’ve done since I got here”

“Not lie, more...secrets” 

He briefly turns his head to see a small smirk upon her face and she finally pulls a magazine out of her bag, Corey Hart with the words ‘ _WIN YOUR WAY INTO COREY’S HEART_ ’ across the cover.

Nick and Will eventually find themselves back at Mike and El, with Nick holding his shoes and socks in his left hand

“Might not be the best day for swimming”

“Of course it’s not, It’s the end of December and 45 degrees Fahrenheit ” Will laughs before sitting himself down on the blanket next to Mike, Nick sitting down beside him. Will nods at El’s magazine.  
  
“Corey Hart” he says “Cute”  
  
El agrees, adding “I bet he’s a good kisser”  
  
“How on earth would you know that from a _picture?”_ Mike splutters, sitting up  
  
“Max thought that same about Ralph Macchio”  
  
“Oh he _definitely_ wouldn’t be” he rolls his eyes “Max doesn’t know what she’s talking about”  
  
“Well she’s got more experience with guys than you” Will jokes to Mike, under his breath, nudging him in the ribs  
  
“And you do know what you're talking about?” El says, raising her eyebrows at Mike  
  
“No. I’m just saying, objectively, he doesn’t look like he would be. I mean, far too brooding for my taste”

“And what exactly is that?” El asks him “When it comes to _boys_ , I mean”  
  
Her words cause Will to look between them. He meets Mike’s eyes, silently asking  
  
 _Does she know?_ _  
__  
_Mike hadn’t considered the fact that though the plan to keep the breakup secret was fine in practice, when faced with a situation such as the one he faced at present, it probably wasn’t the best idea. He gives a quick glance at El, before looking back and begrudgingly nodding- hoping this wouldn’t come back to bite him. He looks down at his hands, takes a breath and begins.  
  
“Well. If I _had_ to say, they wouldn’t be brooding for starters. More sensitive, thoughtful. Honest, wouldn’t give up without a fight. But also creative and smart-” he stops “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter anyway”  
  
El looks at him, a smug smile on her face as she loudly flips the page in her magazine  
  
 _She talks to Max too much,_ Mike thinks.  
  
“Hey, no judgement here” Nick says, putting his arm around Will “You pretty much summed my type up there as well” He gives him a curious look and Mike finds his face burning under the gaze, quickly averting his eyes to look at the sand.

“No- I was just-”  
  
“So” El starts, still looking at her magazine “Exactly like Corey Hart, then Mike.”  
  
There’s silence for a while. It starts out awkward but soon the four fall into a sense of comfort, chatting occasionally amongst themselves and listening to the waves. El continues to read her magazine, and Will pulls out _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,_ leaning against Nick’s chest whilst he reads, Nick softly playing with his hair. El tries to get Mike involved with what she’s reading _(“Come on, here’s 10 tips that will help you win the heart of the boy you have a crush on”)_ but he makes a point of ignoring her, staring out at the water overthinking what he’d just said. It’s when he shivers, that El speaks again _  
__  
_“There’s a nice coffee stand nearby, if you’re cold” El informs Mike “They do the best hot chocolate and it always warm me up. _Will_ , how about you come with me to get some?” she says, standing up. This gets Mike’s attention. The way she says it is suspicious, and he doesn’t think her asking _Will_ to be the one to join her is a coincidence. He wishes that she’d just _stop._ He knows that she knows how he feels about Will, at this point he thinks everyone _(except Will)_ does but he needs them to realise that his feelings don’t make any difference. Will is in a relationship, Will has Nick, Will is _happy_ . Whilst he wishes he had figured out his feelings just a few months earlier and maybe had the slightest bit of a chance, he’d accepted, begrudgingly, that he was too late. He hadn’t seen Will smile this much in a long time and he wasn’t going to be the one that ruined that.  
  
“El, it’s Christmas time. He’s probably not there today” Will replies, not taking his eyes away from his book

“El, I can come with you” Mike offers quickly, starting to stand up himself.

“No” El says, suspiciously fast “Will owes me a hot chocolate from last time”  
  
“I’m pretty sure _you_ got the-”  
  
“Nope. It was you” she tells him “Mike, Nick, what do you want to drink?” _  
__  
_The boys give her their order and El heads toward the edge of the beach, where Mike assumes the coffee stand is, pulling a slightly reluctant Will behind her and leaving Nick and Mike on South Marcum beach. There is an awkward silence between the boys, as they’d not been left alone together since Mike had arrived in Benton. Mike, wanting something to do with his hands, starts drawing patterns in the sand.  
  
“So” Nick starts “How are you liking Benton?”  
  
“I have been here before you know?” Mike says, wincing at the unintended harshness in his voice “But it is nice to see it at Christmas, too. Will and El came back home last year” 

“They came _home_ huh?”

“It may be a shithole but it’s always going to be home. For all of us”  
  
“Is that how Will feels or how _you_ feel?”

Mike scoffs, muttering _same difference_ under his breath. Nick catches the gist of what he’s saying. He sighs.  
  
“Look, Mike, I know you don’t like me very much” Nick tells him “You’ve been off with me since that first phone call”  
  
“Well you didn’t make the best first impression” Mike bites back, before sighing “Besides, it’s not that I don’t _like_ you, it’s just-”  
  
“I’m Will’s boyfriend?” Nick finishes for him  
  
Mike gives him a look  
  
“Mike, I’m not stupid. I see the way you look at him”  
  
“What? Look, Nick I don’t know what you’re talking about - I’m with El, I don’t-”  
  
“Don’t even try it. You’ve barely spoken to her since you arrived. Will told me it was always hard to get you two to part, and yet you’ve been in the same room as her approximately three times since Friday”

“That’s not true. I tried to get her to come to the diner but she had homework. She’s here now as well isn’t she?”

“And yet here you are, alone with me”  
  
Mike scowls, hanging his head so Nick can’t see his flushed cheeks  
  
“Or maybe you really do just have a thing for Corey Hart-”  
  
“I’m not going to do anything about it” Mike mutters

“What’s that?”  
  
“You and Will. I’m not here to ruin your relationship. He’s happy here, with you, and I promise I’m not going to let my feelings get in the way of that. I wouldn’t hurt him like that. I’ll be back in Hawkins after new year and I won't visit without The Party again. I’ll leave you alone”  
  
“Will’s not going to let you do that”  
  
“Well he’ll _have_ to” Mike snaps, rubbing furiously at his eyes “Because I _can’t_ do this. It might be selfish, taking myself away from it all, but I really don’t want to ruin the really good thing he’s got here. It _does_ hurt though, being around him. If I’d only figured all of this out earlier-” he shakes his head “It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have said anything. Forget it.”

“Mike-”  
  
“He was here!” El’s voice echoes across the empty beach  
  
“Everything alright?" There's a curious tone in Will's voice 

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be? Just had a talk with Nick, best friend to boyfriend. He gets the seal of approval”  
  
“Mike -”  
  
“Nick, honestly” Mike interrupts him “I meant it. You two are good together”  
  
Will hands Mike and Nick their drinks and sits down, settling himself back against Nick’s chest. He looks at Mike, smiling softly.  
  
“You’re right, Mike. He is pretty great”  
  
Nick smiles back at his boyfriend, but it’s only Mike who notices the smile doesn’t quite meet his eyes.  
  
The rest of their time at Rend Lake goes mostly without incident. El, thankfully, doesn’t mention anything else to do with Mike’s taste in boys and they enjoy time together just talking and drinking their coffee and hot chocolates.  
  
When they leave, Mike notices that Nick gives Will a quick kiss goodbye, forgoing _\- what Mike assumed was -_ his usual offer to walk Will home. If Will is a little more subdued on the walk home, even after Mike makes a joke about how the _Big Bad of Benton_ definitely can’t get him when he’s protected by him _and_ El, no one mentions it.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
To Will’s surprise, when they arrive back home, everyone is there. He had expected Jonathan and Nancy to be out again, and his mom to be running whatever _errands_ she had. He soon realises that Jonathan hadn’t let their mom out of his sight the whole day, choosing to sit with her whilst she was watching TV, ironing, or doing general household chores. He could see that his mom (and Nancy) was getting frustrated with his constant presence but was trying desperately to avoid another argument.  
  
El, grabs some _Eggos_ from the freezer, popping them into the toaster. Mike is silently lingering. His light mood from earlier in the day, almost non-existent. 

_Thought brooding wasn’t your type?_

If Will thought about it, that conversation was _strange._ The Mike from yesterday seemed as though he was dealing with _everything_ on his own. Yet El’s words suggested that she’d known about that for longer than Will himself had. Then that phone call with Max from earlier. The things he was telling her. He didn't know the context of the conversation of course but he couldn't help there was something more to that conversation.

_And that's fine._ He thinks _People get to come out when they’re ready. I can’t be mad he didn’t tell me first._

And if Will really thought about it, why did El want to know what Mike’s ‘taste in boys’ was, when Mike earlier had agreed with him, when Will had suggested that maybe Mike and El could now get back on track.

_And that’s fine._ He thinks _Mike is allowed to express himself how he wants. He’s just coming to terms with himself so this could be good for him to acknowledge._

And if Will _really_ thought about it, Mike’s description was a little _too_ specific.  
  


 _If he has someone in mind,_ Will tells himself, _that’s none of your business. Besides, why do I care who Mike is interested in? I have Nick, now._ _  
__  
_

_Stop._ _  
__  
_

“Will?” El’s voice brings him out of his ruminating “Do you want some Eggos?” _  
__  
_“What? Oh, no. No thanks” _  
_  
She shrugs at him, plating up her and Mike’s snack before heading to her room. It’s then Will notices Mike had already left at some point during his spiralling thoughts _._ He assumes Mike is already in El’s room, so he shakes his head to clear away any lasting doubts and follows his sister down the hallway.

When the phone rings later that evening, the Byers think nothing of it. Will shouts “I’ll get it!” as he leaves Mike, El, Jonathan and Nancy in the living room where they were watching the TV premiere of _Outlaws_ . He knows it will be Nick calling for their nightly phone call, so he figures he’d save his family the small talk. When he answers, however, it’s not Nick that responds to his joking _‘You’re late calling me’_ but a vaguely familiar voice _,_ although Will finds he can’t quite place it.

“I need to speak to Joyce”

The man sounds urgent, but Will shakes off the feeling of concern, assuming it’s someone from work.  
  
Will barely has enough time to shout for his mother because she scurries down the hallway, snatching the phone out his hand, mouthing a quick apology.  
  
 _“Hello?”_  
  
Will frowns at her voice. There’s a desperation in it he hasn’t heard for a very long time. She shoos him away, and he heads back to the living room to join everyone else.  
  
“Was that Nick?” El asks, looking away from the TV.  
  
“Someone for Mom” he shrugs, joining them on the sofa again. They settle back in to watch the show, but they’re interrupted five minutes later, when they hear a loud gasp coming from the hallway.  
  
“Mom?” Jonathan calls, his voice concerned. They receive no answer, so he stands as if to head toward the hallway himself. He only makes it a few steps, when Joyce enters the living room, dazed as she walks in.  
  
“Mom?” Jonathan says again, the concern rising in his voice “What’s happened?”  
  


“He’s alive” she’s shaking as she says it  
  


“Hopper. He’s _alive_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. We've been dropping hints about that since the beginning so well done if you picked up on that.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! You can follow us both on tumblr at [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


	10. Just the pounding of my heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You’re pretty special, you know that Will Byers?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're sorry.
> 
> We have a playlist for the fic that we will be continuously updating! You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)
> 
> \- [Will's Mixtape](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/15hvV7sn9hCFpnusL8u6pI?si=1YHK49MbQdmsr9QLpgpeww)  
> \- [Mike and Nancy's 'Perfect' Roadtrip Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0P6qDw3D7nF0iirhv3maia?si=M7d9iSCZQHyPXlUgy314Jw)

There is a moment of silence before the room erupts into chaos

 _“What?”_  
  
 _“How?”_  
  
 _“Where?”_  
  
 _“Who was that? How do you know?”_  
  
El, who had stayed on the couch since their mom had walked in, is the one who is able to break through the noise. Will didn’t need to tap in to their _connection,_ the feelings coursing through El making themselves known without his input. He feels rushes of anger, sadness, confusion and a hope so strong he can’t quite bare it. The lights in the living room flicker, halting the barrage of questions being thrown at Joyce.  
  
They all turn to face her, but she barely notices, keeping her gaze firmly fixed on their mom.  
  
“Is he ok? Where is he?” her voice shakes as she says it and there is a look on her face that Will cannot determine.  
Joyce turns to face El, a distraught look on her face. She brushes her hair back, trying - and failing - to compose herself, before rushing over to her daughter.  
  
“Oh, sweetheart” she coos. She kneels on the floor in front of the couch, holding El’s face in her hands.  
  
“He’s going to be fine. He’s safe now, he’s with a friend”  
  
“Murray, right?” Jonathan interrupts “That’s who was on the phone. That’s who you were meeting in Sesser. You’ve known about this for a while, haven’t you?”  
  
“Murray” Joyce mutters, more to herself “I have to go - I have to see him” She pulls away from El, stands and starts frantically looking for her keys _“Shit!_ Where are they?”  
  
“Mom, mom, slow down” It’s Jonathan again, moving across the room, he takes hold of her hands, halting her search “You’re in no state to go anywhere”  
  
“No, you don’t understand - I need to go” she tries to pull away but Jonathan is stronger, and he keeps her in his grasp “Mom, you look _exhausted._ None of us know what’s going on, what’s been happening. We need to talk. And then you need to _sleep._ Hop is fine. He’s _safe._ Murray will call if there are any changes, and we’ll all be here to hear the phone”  
  
As if manifested by Jonathan’s words, the phone rings, piercingly loud throughout the house.

Joyce breaks free of the hold this time, Jonathan’s grasp going slack. She bolts for the hallway, picking the phone up after just three rings.  
  
“Murray?” She’s frantic as she says it  
  
There’s a silence whilst the caller speaks, and Will then hears his mom calling for him  
  
“Will, honey” she says, her voice slightly more grounded “It’s Nick!”  
  
As he walks down the hallway and his mom hands the phone to him he notices that she still has a determined look on her face. He’s reluctant to let her leave, knowing Jonathan was right when he said she couldn’t go anywhere right now. He knows that she’ll give in eventually, and that she’s safe in the living room with everyone else, but he hates watching her walk away from him. His mom often hides just how much something has worried her, upset her or scared her, but this time Will can see just how much this has her shaken up.  
  
“Hi Nick,” He says it quick, eyes following his mom as she walks in the living room.

“Murray? Another friend from Hawkins?”

“Something like that…” Will mutters, though it’s more to himself, “Nick, now really isn’t the best time-”

“Is everything alright?”

“Yep. Of course. Absolutely fine.”  
  
Nick doesn’t buy it.

“Will? Are you ok? You sound a bit-”

“Nick, really. It’s fine. I’m fine, just family stuff.”

“Family stuff” Nick replies slowly “Are you guys alright?”  
  
“Yeah” Will tells him quickly “We just had some news. Can’t really go too much into it but we’re dealing with it”  
  
“Do Mike and Nancy need any company while you do? How can I help?”  
  
Will feels warm at Nick’s constant desire to want to help, though right now is not the time. Not for the first time since their relationship started, he curses the need for NDAs and contracts and ‘ _don’t tell anyone’s’._ He’s so fed up of having to keep _the_ biggest thing that ever happened to him such a secret, of having to fabricate so much of his life. He’s angry at what being taken into the upside down, and everything that came after, has destroyed. He’s not sure how he’s supposed to explain that when it comes to things like this, Mike and Nancy _are_ family. He won’t voice this to Nick, but the thought of Mike _not_ being here during this is too much for Will to fathom. He doesn’t know how he would have gotten through anything that had happened the last few years if it wasn’t for Mike.

“No actually. They’re going to stay here” The way Will says it sounds like a question

“Ah”  
  
“Nick-”  
  
“I get it” Nick interrupts him “ _Shared Trauma,_ right?” _  
__  
_There’s a slight pause, a pang of awkwardness rushes over Will

“I’ll let you go, then”  
  
“Nick, I’m sorry”

“It’s okay” Nick tells him. Will feels anything but _ok_ “Just let me know if you need anything. If you’re feeling up to it, maybe we can go to the movies tomorrow?”  
  
“Sure” Will agrees “I’ll ask Mike what he wants to watch?”  
  
“Yeah. Me, you and Mike”

Before Will can reply properly, he hears more commotion from the living room, he curses, and tells Nick  
  
“I have to go. See you tomorrow”  
  
And hangs up before he can hear Nick’s reply.  
  
  


* * *

**December 29th 1986, Benton, Illinois.**

It’s late when Will wakes the next day, his alarm clock flashing 1:30pm. They’d stayed up way into the early hours of the morning, all of them taking turns bombarding Joyce with questions.  
  
 _“Mom, is that why we moved to Illinois?”_ _  
__  
__“How did you know?”_ _  
__  
__“When did you find out he could be?”_ _  
__  
__“Why didn’t you tell us?” That was El, her voice smaller than Will had ever heard it before._ _  
__  
__His mom had taken El’s hands in her own, softly rubbing circles on the back of her hand with her thumb._ _  
__  
__“I didn’t want to tell you and it not be true. Sweetheart, I didn’t want you to have to go through that loss again”_  
  
Safe to say, it was an emotional night.  
  
Will feels disoriented, it had been a while since news of this magnitude had been the cause of his sleeplessness, but he had to admit, staying awake to process good news was better than staying awake to process _we-just-almost-died-because-of-a-being-from-an-alternate-dimension_ news.  
  
He notices that Mike isn’t in his room with him, and the realisation makes him aware of how quiet the house is. He throws back his covers, bracing himself for the cold to hit, and makes his way out of the bedroom. The house is empty, and he doesn’t find anyone on his way to the kitchen. His mom had conceded to not going to Murrary’s last night, like she wanted to ( _“Mom, you going now and going tomorrow isn’t going to make a difference. He’s safe. And you need sleep” Jonathan had told her firmly.)_ so he knew she’d have left first thing, but he wasn’t expecting everyone else to be gone too. 

He grabs a mug from the cabinet, starts the coffee machine before walking over to the fridge to grab some milk. He spots a note on the door, recognising the handwriting immediately:

> _Will,_
> 
> _Nancy woke me up early, her and Jonathan headed out with your Mom early this morning. She wasn’t in any fit state to drive herself to see Hopper. Don’t know how long it’s going to take but Jonathan said he’ll keep us posted._
> 
> _Mike_
> 
> _P.S_
> 
> _Took El out of the house for a bit. Thought it was for the best. Tried to ask you if you wanted to come but you were completely out of it. You really can sleep through anything apparently. Won’t be long._

> _Mike (again)_

_Well that solves that mystery_

In that moment, for the first time in a while, Will feels very alone. He grabs his coffee, makes his way into the living room and sits on the couch. _  
_Will notes that It’s eerie being in the house by himself. He looks around, picking up on details he wouldn’t necessarily have paid mind to before. The book on their coffee table had a ring shaped stain on it. The clocks seemed to skip slightly every 5 seconds _tick, tock, tick, tock, tic-tock, tick._ He was sure, if he listened very carefully, he could hear the lights humming. He considers putting on some music but finds he doesn’t want to move. If he really thought about it, he probably hadn’t been truly alone since that night in 1983- there had always been someone around, or someone near enough nearby. But with his Mom, Brother and Nancy...wherever Murray lives and Mike and El somewhere in the general Benton area, it was hard for Will not to find himself spiralling. The clock was still ticking, the light still humming. _Did it flicker? Of course not._ _But what if it-_

The ringing of the phone startles Will, pulling him swiftly out of his thoughts. Putting his coffee on the side table, he makes a run for the phone, grateful to have something else to focus his attention on.  
  
“Byers residence”  
  
“Will” Nick says in way of greeting “I’ve been trying to get hold of you all morning”  
  
“Apparently I sleep through anything” he laughs

“What’s that?”  
  
“Oh nothing” Will shakes his head “Just something Mike said”  
  
“Right”  
  
There’s another moment of awkwardness, like the one from the night before. Will finds he hates that it’s a feeling that’s coming between them.  
  
“Is everything ok?” he asks Nick “You’ve been acting weird since the lake”  
  
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking if everything is ok?”  
  
“Why? What did Mike say to you when me and El got the drinks?”  
  
“No, Will, I’m talking about last night. The _family stuff?_ ”  
  
“Oh. Right, yeah. It’s good, we’re good. It was about El’s dad” _Shut up, Will. Stop talking._

“El’s dad? The one you and Mike told me died?” _Oh shit_

“Yep.” He winces “It’s...a long, long, _very_ long story.” _If by dead, you mean kept in a russian camp for a whole year, then sure. He was dead._

“Right”  
  
Will winces, once again, at Nick’s tone.  
  
“Why were you calling?” Will deflects, grateful when Nick answers the question  
  
“I was checking in. See if you still wanted to go to the movies later”  
  
“Yes. I want to. I still haven’t had a chance to ask if Mike wants to come, but I’m sure he will. I can ask El as well?”  
  


“The more the merrier. I’m sure Mike doesn’t want to third wheel anyway”  
  
Will laughs at Nick’s comment, but still can’t shake the idea that something is wrong. Nick tells him that he’ll be over at 4pm, and Will tries not to let it bother him that they continue the rest of the conversation avoiding the mention of Mike.  
  
  


  
When Mike and El arrive back around 3pm, it was safe to say El looked significantly brighter. Truly, Will couldn’t quite comprehend what she must have been going through, grieving for a father that she’d lost, to now a year later finding out he’d been alive the whole time. There was a long journey ahead clearly- there still hadn’t been any word from his mother or Jonathan and Nancy- but it was a good start. For El. For all of them.

“ _Will_ ” she’d said, holding both his hands with her own, “My Dad. I get to see my Dad again” He thinks that this was probably the first time she’d said it out loud. He pulls himself out of her hands, wrapping his sister into a tight hug instead. “You get to see your dad again”

She pulls away, giving him a teary eyed smile before walking back over to Mike, kissing him on the cheek, a whispered _“thank you”_ on her lips, before retreating to her room.

Mike collapses on the couch. Will joins him.

“Now she’s out the room, how was she? Really?”

Mike sighed, running his hands through his hair “She was quiet for most of the time we were out, so it was kinda hard to tell. I let her guide me to be honest- which seemed to lead me to spending the very little money I have on me on ice cream” he gave Will a smile, “So I think she’s fine. Or will be anyway. I think it’s bothering her that she can’t see him yet but I completely get why your Mom didn’t take her”

He nodded. Hopper may be alive but they didn’t truly know how _alive_ he was. 

“Thanks for doing that. I got your note on the fridge, I’m sorry I wasn’t awake”

“Yeah what’s with that Byers? I tried shaking you, putting on some music. El wanted to throw a cup of water over you-”

“Wow. Thank you for being so considerate”

“Dangerous that, I could have been anyone”

“Let me sleep. For multiple reasons that we don’t need to get into, I didn’t get too much of it in Hawkins” He nudges him playfully in the ribs before putting one foot up on the couch, hugging his knee.

It’s quiet for a little while- the only sounds being faint music - _Jim Croce, Will notes_ \- coming from El’s room. But it’s not awkward, instead it has a vibe that Will can’t quite put a word to. It’s a feeling that’s just _them._ He rests his head against his arms, tilting his face in the direction of Mike’s. He was looking down, smiling slightly, though it looked almost _bittersweet,_ a faint blush across his cheeks. _It must have been nice to catch up with El_ he thinks, analysing him for a moment. They hadn’t really been together too much since Mike and Nancy had arrived a couple of days ago, Mike hanging out with himself and Nick a lot of the time. Will didn’t want to say it was a _pleasant_ change to actually have Mike to himself again for a bit (well, to himself and Nick) as that would be incredibly selfish.

But it was Christmas so he allowed himself to be just a little _self-indulgent_ with his feelings.

“I’ve been listening to it a lot by the way” Mike finally says, turning is head to face him

“Listening to…”

“That mixtape you gave me? Before you left?”

_Oh._

“What did you think- if you didn’t like it it’s fine, It was just a few things I thought you might-”

“Will I _loved_ it”

“You did?”

He nods, “I’ve been listened to The Smiths so much now, pretty sure everyone at home is fed up”

“I thought you might like them. Though, I feel hurt that you didn’t think to mention Bowie or Springstein”

“Hey, no that’s not true, I put it on the mixtape I made for-” 

Will’s breath catches as Mike stops himself. He doesn’t turn away but he looks like he’s thinking of multiple ways he can erase what he’s said, to make it so it never happened

“You made me a mixtape?” His voice is small, and really it’s more to himself than to Mike. He’s still staring at him. He nods. 

“It’s not very good. I messed it up. It’s not worth listening to really”

“Can you show me?”

He doesn’t respond.

“What’s on it?”

“It doesn’t matter” It quiet and Mike begins to turn away, face becoming increasingly red

“Hey,” he reaches out to touch Mike’s arm, bringing his focus back to him, ignoring his slightly quickening pulse _It’s just the conversation. It’s nothing more._ “You don’t have to. Really, it’s ok. But would it be odd to say thanks?”

“Thanks, for nothing?”

“It’s the thought that counts” he adds, shrugging 

“Then you’re welcome, Will the Wise”  
  


He gives a smile, and after one last comforting squeeze pulls his hand away from Mike’s arm. He lingers slightly, and notices that Mike leans into the touch, chasing it. This takes WIll by surprise, and he lets go, pulling back all the way. He notices that Mike seems to follow suit, bring his arms in closer to himself.

And the vibe changes.

An awkwardness fills the room and Will feels it settle over them both. He notices that Mike is looking down, playing with his hands. A nervous habit, Will knew. A habit that Mike had when he was gearing himself to face something he didn’t like. Or say something he didn’t want to say. It put a lump in his throat, and a sense of dread makes home in his stomach. There’s a silence, one so awkward it’s something that hadn’t ever happened between them before.  
  
 _He’s going to tell me something bad. This is why he’s been acting so weird. Something’s wrong. He’s gearing up to do something he doesn’t want to do._

“I’ve been thinking a bit” Mike finally breaks the silence, “A lot actually”

“Seems to be a common theme these days” he replies in a joking manner, hoping this would diffuse the tension.

“I’m trying to be serious here for a moment ok?” He sighs, taking a deep breath in, “There’s a lot of things, just going round my head and I just feel like I’m really stuck here. So I just-”

“Mike is everything-”

“Just, let me talk for a minute ok Will? Just let me talk. I don’t think I can do this-”

Will’s mind starts to rush.  
  
“Will I-” Mike starts, the words are difficult to get out. Will’s eyes search Mike. 

“What Mike?”

“I just- I just need to tell you that-”  
  


The doorbell rings.  
  


They both jump.  
  


“That’s Nick” he gives Mike an apologetic smile _literally saved by the bell._ “Continue this later?”  
  
Mike sighs, giving a small smile “No. It’s okay. It’s not important, I’m just really glad you’re happy. I meant it when I said Nick’s great. Really great.”

“You are?”

“Yeah Will. It’s like, I dunno it’s dumb. It doesn’t matter, go let Nick in”

“No tell me”

Mike stops, looking back down at his hands, “It’s like, you’ve finally been able to move on, past Hawkins, past everything. And you’re glowing Will, you’re- you’re radiant. And you’re _you._ You’re so _you_ Will Byers”

“And I just- I needed to tell you that. _Had_ to tell you that. I think I’d regret it if I didn’t”

Will doesn’t know what to say, finding himself beginning to speak before finding he’s unable to. He looks at him, still sitting there, looking down at his hands, face reddening 

**_You’re glowing Will. You’re radiant._ **

“Mike, what do you-? What does this-?”  
  
  


**_And you’re you. You’re so you Will Byers._ **

The doorbell rings again.

Will stands quickly, making his way over to the door, opening it to find a grinning Nick on the other side.  
  


“Don’t want to say I pulled some strings and picked up some tickets to the _apparently_ sold out re-run of _The Fly_ but that’s exactly what I did” he steps into the house, giving Will a quick peck. He looks at Mike, frowning at the look on his face. Will tries to school his expression into something acceptable

“What’s up? You not excited, Wheeler?”  
  
“Oh right” Will says “I hadn’t gotten around to asking. Do you want to come to the movies with us, Mike. We’re seeing _The Fly,_ apparently”

“You know what? You guys go, make a date of it or something-”

“Mike, it’s no problem-” Will starts, reaching for a jacket on the coat stand. He moves Nick's letterman, that he'd hung up yesterday, out of the way so he can reach underneath for his old parka.

“It’s fine. You guys don’t want me just hanging out with you all the time, we’ve got the rest of the week for that anyway.” Will looks unconvinced, furrowing his brow “Really Will, it’s fine. Saves you money on movie snacks. I’ll hang out here”

“Mike? Are you sure that’s what you want?” It’s Nick that asks this time, slowly. Mike looks into Nick’s eyes, giving a quick nod, receiving a curious look from Nick in return. He breaks the gaze, breaks character and rolls his eyes

“Geez just go already. You’ll miss the film. I’m _fine”_  
  
Will finishes shrugging on his jacket, gives Mike one more _are you okay_ look, before Nick takes his hand and they head out.

* * *

The door shuts, leaving Mike alone.

He takes a breath and walks down the hallway, following the gentle tones of _Madonna’s Angel._ It was a song he’d heard a lot when visiting The Byers. He supposed it was a reminder of Hawkins in some way.

He lightly taps on El’s door. The track stops abruptly. The door opens.

“Hey”

“Mike? Where's Will?”

“Can I hang out here for a bit?”

He doesn’t need to say anymore as El nods her head, holding out her hand to him. He takes her palm in his own as she leads him into her room, indicating to him to sit on her bed. She restarts the _Madonna_ track before joining him. 

They’re silent for a moment but it’s comfortable. They just sit, and listen. _This fits_ Mike notes, surprising himself. Despite everything, the break up, the conversation with Max the next day, the realisation, _the mixtape,_ he considers that maybe, though not ideal in circumstances, this was the closure he needed. Sitting here, El at his side, listening to _Madonna_ of all things, he realised she’d never truly be seen in the way he saw Lucas or Dustin, not really- they’d been through too much for that. _You don’t hide a wanted telekinetic girl in a makeshift fort in your basement to be seen as simply a friend._ He didn’t believe in soul mates, but if he could put a name to what they were, he thinks they’d be each other’s, in a completely platonic way.

And he was so excited to see where her life went from here.

He looks over to her, her head bobbing, miming along to the words and he exhales a breathy laugh- _that_ gets her attention. She turns to him, still miming along to the words, though more exaggerated this time, almost as if it were a performance, encouraging him to join in. He remembers back to the Summer of ‘85. Sitting in the cabin, ‘listening’ to Corey Hart _(of course it was Corey Hart)_ and this is definitely a change from the El who’d told him she didn’t like what he was doing. He barely has time to shake his head before she grabs his wrists, forcing him to get involved.

But, really, how could he refuse? 

The song comes to a close, as does the moment. There’s a genuine smile on both their faces, Mike feeling relieved that even for just 4 mins, it was like all the awkwardness, all the confusion for the last few weeks never happened. She rests his head on his shoulder, playing with her hands

“I’m sorry El”

“Mike, it’s ok. You didn’t do anything wrong”

“That doesn’t change the fact I felt like I did. I should have realised sooner.” He pauses for a second, debating on whether he should ask his next point. _We’ve come this far, may as well take the plunge_

“El? When did you know?”

Her hands stop moving now. He shifts his eyes to look at her, noting she was now biting her lip, concentrating

“I thought about things in August. When you came with Nancy”

He nods, feeling a slight twinge of guilt. Remembering telling her, in a round-about way she wasn’t really Will’s sister. _Not my finest moment._

“I didn’t. Know, I mean.”

“I know Mike.”

He closes his eyes, he takes a deep breath, before asking his next question

“Hey El?”

“Yes Mike?

“When I visited, you said you could _feel_ he wasn’t ok”

“Mike, I can’t-”

“I’m not asking you to go into details. I don’t even want to know what it is. But I just need to know-” He stops himself, considering his next choice of words, “I just _want_ to make sure he’s ok now”

He hears El sigh “Would the answer make much of a difference to you?” He can’t tell if the tone is concern, defeated, _pity,_ but it’s sincere either way.

He nods again.

And they just sit, waiting for everyone to arrive back home.

* * *

_  
__  
_“Will? Are you listening?”  
  
“Sorry” he shakes his head “What were you saying?”  
  
“I asked if you liked the movie?” Nick says again. They were walking home after their impromptu date, hands clasped together, swinging between them as they walked. They didn’t engage in PDA often, Illinois might be a more progressive state but there were still those around who didn’t agree with people _like them_ . Tonight it was later, with less people around and Nick had taken the opportunity to take his boyfriend’s hand as they left the movie theatre.  
“Will?”  
  
“Oh yeah” he responds, noncommittal “It was good”  
  
“Oh come on” Nick laughs, squeezing Will’s hand “I’ve seen you be more convincing than that. You’ve been distant since we left, what’s going on in that head of yours”  
  
“I’m just thinking about Mike” Will admits, knowing when Nick is worried,  
  
“Ah”

“I just hope he’s okay. I wasn’t expecting him to not want to come” He says, worrying at his bottom lip  
  
“I’m sure he’s fine” Nick reassures “Probably just wanted to spend some time with El, he hasn’t had a lot of one on one time with her since he’s been here. Do you want to walk round the park before I drop you home?” he adds, just as they’re coming up to Benton City Park.

Will nods and they make their way toward the front gates.  
  
“That’s what's so weird” Will tells him as they turn the corner “Like I’ve said before you can’t get one without the other, but this week? It’s like he’s not wanted to be around her at all. I know that he’s asked her if she wants to come along to things but, that’s what’s odd too. She’s not exactly jumping at the chance either ” he sighs “I don’t know. Just out of character”  
  
Nick pauses for a moment, as if he’s choosing his next words carefully  
  
“You looked like you were having an important conversion before I arrived. Mike looked spooked when you opened the door” he says finally  
  
“More like _weird_ ” Will admits “He was building up to telling me something, something he was clearly nervous about, but then he stops and tells me he’s happy for me. That I’m ‘ _radiant’_ and he’s happy I’ve ‘ _moved on’_. He’s always been a little in his own head about things but these last few days, it’s almost like he’s not sure how to be anywhere else” 

Nick doesn’t say anything. He knows that once the Will Byers floodgates open, everything he’s been keeping inside will come out all at once.  
  
“That hug? The day he got here? That hasn’t happened in _years._ Not like that. He hugged me before he even said so much as a hello to El. It was like she wasn’t even there” He lets out a slight laugh “And as someone whose existence once revolved around watching them swap spit, _that_ was weird. What’s weirder is that El seems _fine_ with it all. She’s just been giving me these weird knowing smiles whenever Mike is with me, but I don’t know what it _means_ ” 

He sighs, rubbing his free hand over his face 

“I don’t know. Maybe once the rest of The Party arrive things will be a little more normal” 

Nick stays silent as he guides them both toward a single park bench. 

“Join me” He finally says, untangling their fingers and sitting down  
  
Will does so, but not before giving Nick a confused look. Their usual walks around the park consisted of a small loop and they didn’t often stop, especially this late in the day. He gets a small smile from Nick as he sits.  
  
“You really care about Mike, don’t you?” Nick asks after a short silence  
  
Will frowns “Of course I do” he says “He’s my best friend-”  
  
“No” Nick interrupts, “You really _care_ about _Mike_ , don’t you”

“I’ve known him since we were _five_ , we’ve been through _so much_ together, he’s my _best friend-“_

“You’ve said that” 

“This isn’t new information. You’ve known about Mike since we met”

“I’ve known about Mike, yes” Nick agrees “But I didn’t know about _you and Mike”_

Will feels as though the world falls from under him and he’s grateful he’s sitting down. 

“Nick, I don’t know - I can’t - I mean, there is no _me and Mike._ There _can’t_ be a _me and Mike,_ there has _never_ been a _me and Mike,_ he’s my _best friend,_ I don’t know what you-”

“Will” Nick takes his boyfriends hand, interlocking their fingers once more “It’s okay. I see the way you look at him, the way you _are_ with him. I didn’t see it when he’d call, obviously. Besides, he didn’t call much anyway so it never really crossed my mind. But these last few days, you two, you’re in your own little world. As if when he’s around you’re the only thing in each other’s orbit. That hug? The first day? I thought, _‘oh they’ve just really missed each other’_ but the more time he spent with us, the more time you’ve spent with him, I could see it’s more than that. Isn't it?” 

“Nick, I don’t know -“

“Will, honestly, it’s _okay._ I’m not accusing you of anything, I know _nothing has happened_ , but I’m not stupid either and it doesn’t take much to see how hung up you two are over each other”

“He’s _dating_ my sister. He’s dating _El_ -”

“You said it yourself. He headed toward you first. I don’t think he was planning to let go”

“Mike is-“ Will shakes his head, it wasn’t his place to say, especially not now “He has a _girlfriend”_

“Does he know that?”

“ _Yes”_ Will stresses “because he is with her right now, because he wanted to be _with her_ instead of with _me_ ” 

“Have you taken the time to think that maybe he’s not here because he didn’t want to come on yet _another_ date with us”

“These haven’t been dates, we’ve been showing him around town”

“Will, in the last three days you’ve taken him to every spot that means something to the two of us. The diner - which no one ever visits by the way - has become our main place for dates and don’t forget the lake”

 _“_ Some people visit the diner’ he mutters

“Yeah” Nick agrees “Us and Mrs Jefferson” he laughs “Don't think I’m oblivious to the fact that you’re deflecting here, Will”

Will sighs “I don’t know what you want me to say. Tell me what you want me to say.”

“I need _you_ to tell me what _you_ want to say. I think there’s a lot you could say, but you’ve held it in far too long” 

“Do you want me to tell you I’m in love with him? Is that it? That this whole time I’ve been in love with Mike and wishing you were him and-”

“No, because that wouldn’t be true. Will, I know you said yes when I asked you out because you liked me, I know you’ve been happy these last few months, I know that we are _good_ . I know you didn’t lie. Neither of us did. But can you honestly tell me when he told you he was happy you’d ‘moved on’ that it didn’t hurt? That you didn’t feel pain at the thought that you moving on meant without him? I know that you were moving on, that you’ve taken more steps forward since you’d left Hawkins, I don’t need to know what happened there to know that. But all these good parts don’t magically erase the fact that you _are_ in love with Mike. Whether you’ve let yourself accept it until now, _that_ is true” 

Will is silent for a little while 

“I’m sorry” he eventually whispers 

“Will, you have _nothing_ to be sorry for” Nick reassures “You can’t help the way you feel” 

He thinks back. Back to Hawkins, back to the argument, back to destroying Castle Byers. Back to when they’d just moved to Illinois and Mike and El had got back together. Back to when The Party visited, they’d seen _Pretty In Pink_ and Dustin’s claim that _‘You always go for the protagonist's best friend in these kinds of films’_ and that it ‘ _just makes sense’._ Back to the fact he refused to let El read his emotions, that he’d built up a wall to block that out- insisting they only use it when they _have_ to out of fear of her finding out. All of these memories, all of these moments rushing through his mind like a free fall. Everything he’d been trying to ignore, _all this time._ _  
__  
__“_ Have I really felt _this much?_ ” It’s to himself, more than Nick “I’d always repressed it, along with my sexuality. But I think- the more I let that come to the surface, the more my-”

He wipes at his eyes, the material is rough, it’s not the soft cotton he’s used to.

He _wasn’t_ wearing the jacket.  
  


Nick waits for him to process. 

“I’m in love with Mike” he whispers “Oh _god,_ I’m _in love with Mike”_

“Hey, hey, Will, it’s _okay”_ Nick reassures him

“It’s not okay” he runs a hand through his hair “It’s not okay, at all. I’ve hurt _you_ , and El, she’s my _sister,_ I don’t-” he pauses again, taking a deep breath 

“Nick, I don’t know _what to do”_

Nick tightens his grip on Will’s hand, giving it a squeeze. It’s comforting, Will notes, the way Nick always has been. From the warm smile he gave him on his first day, the way his voice sounded when he introduced himself, when he asked Will on that very first date, their first kiss, _Will’s first kiss,_ how happy he’d made him these last few months. Will squeezes his hand back, relishing in the feeling. _He’s so good_ , Will thinks, but now he’s opened his heart, now he’s let himself accept what he’s been repressing all these years, the thought that follows is one he can’t control anymore.

_He’s not Mike._

“You deserve to be happy, Will” Nick says, a sad smile on his face.

Will sniffles, willing away the tears that have now started 

“So do _you_ , Nick. You deserve someone who can be in this with you one hundred percent. Someone whose heart belongs to only you” he wipes at his eyes “I’m sorry I couldn’t be that for you”

Nick squeezes his hand one more time before he lets go, standing up from the bench.

Will’s hand follows Nick’s as he breaks their embrace, wanting that comfort just _one last time_. He stands and joins him.

“I know” Nick says “But I’ll never ever regret the time we’ve had. You’re pretty special, you know that Will Byers?”

* * *

Despite Will’s protest that he didn’t need to be walked home (" _It’s basically the next block, Nick, I’m fine" "What type of ex-boyfriend would I be if I didn’t walk you home?" "I don’t know, a normal one?")_ Nick insists that he walks with Will all the way to his front door.

They don’t talk, but the silence is comfortable and Will is grateful for it. His emotions are running wild and he doesn’t even know where he would even begin with starting a conversation.

When they arrive back to the Byers, both boys find they don’t know what to do. This is where either Nick would come in, say hi to the family, or he’d kiss Will goodbye and whisper how he’d miss him until tomorrow. Neither will happen today, and Will finds that he hates all the endings that come with break-ups.

“I’ll bring any of your things that you’ve left at mine tomorrow, ok Will?”

“Yeah” Will agrees, his voice rough “I’ll get yours all ready, too” 

_Another ending._

“Before I go, can I just say one more thing?” Nick adds

Will nods 

“Talk to Mike. I’m no expert, but I know what it looks like to be in love with Will Byers, and believe me, I can see it on his face just as much as I can see it on mine” 

“What? He’s not-”

“ _Talk_ to him. I think you’ll be surprised” 

And with a small _“Goodnight”_ he leaves a very discombobulated Will standing on the front porch.

Will hesitates before going in, thinking Nick’s words over.

_Mike is dating your sister_ , he tells himself. _Mike is very much dating El_ , _your sister._

What would he even say to him anyway if he wasn’t? ‘ _Hi Mike, I know we’re supposed to be best friends but SURPRISE I’m in love with you!’_

 _No_ , he thinks.

 _Stop it_. 

But his mind betrays him again thinking of Mike’s actions since he’d been here. Spending less time with El, more time with Will. The careful touches between them, his hugs, the looks he’d been giving Will.

 _T_ _hose words._

All simple things, really, but Nick’s words rang through Will’s head, giving them more significance. What if he did talk to Mike? What if he did go in there and tell him how he felt? What would happen? What would he do?

_Could there really be a small chance that Mike felt-_

_No_ , he shakes his head

_Stop it, now._

Mike doesn’t need to know _anything._

_Ever._

He’s happy with El. 

And with that he steadies himself, reaches for the door handle and walks in. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again. We're sorry.  
> We're so grateful so the support this is getting, we really didn't expect it! Although there are 3 chapters left, this is far from over for our characters.  
> It's going to be...  
> A time.
> 
> Remember you can follow us both on tumblr at [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


	11. All made up and nowhere to go, welcome to this one man show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike freezes.
> 
> Will’s shaking. 
> 
> The lightbulb shatters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate us. (We promise the next chapter won't be as angsty)  
> Remember, we're ultimately a Byler fic. 
> 
> You can check out the playlist for the fic (that we will be continuously updating) [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)
> 
> \- [Will's Mixtape](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/15hvV7sn9hCFpnusL8u6pI?si=1YHK49MbQdmsr9QLpgpeww)  
> \- [Mike and Nancy's 'Perfect' Roadtrip Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0P6qDw3D7nF0iirhv3maia?si=M7d9iSCZQHyPXlUgy314Jw)

**December 29th, 1986. Benton, Illinois.**

  
  
It’s when Will walks in the house and closes the door that it actually hits him.

_Nick broke up with me_

Of course he knew that’s what had happened, he was one of the parties involved after all. He’d told him that he deserved someone that could be with him one hundred percent- those were his own words. But it hit him.

_Nick broke up with me. We broke up. I’m not with Nick anymore. Nick and I, we’re not together._

His first boyfriend, the first guy that made him feel like it was truly ok to be who he was. And it was _over._ He knew it was for the best. For both of them, it wouldn’t be fair, especially with his _realisation_

_Stop thinking about it. You can’t think about it._

But he hates how it feels. He hated that it had to end. He hates that he had to realise. But he can’t hate Nick for it.

He wanders aimlessly into the kitchen, he opens the fridge. He closes the fridge.

He walks to the couch. He sits. He hears music from El’s room, _The Cure? Maybe?_ He hears soft laughter.

He turns on the TV.

He’s already prepped for El’s reaction. He knows what she’ll try. So he’ll fake a smile, he’ll tell her about the film. He’ll tell her she would have enjoyed it and he’ll avoid the topic of Mike.

His mind betrays him again for a moment. And he allows himself to think. Think once again about the possibility of saying something to Mike. Thinking over once again, Nick’s advice of _“Talk to him. I think you’ll be surprised”_

_Stop it. He’s with El. You can’t do this to her. He’s. With. El._

But he _still_ thinks and he _still_ analyses and everything is still _weird._ He _still_ didn’t understand the looks. He _still_ didn’t understand why they were distant. Mike _has_ been weird since he had arrived in Benton. From that very first hug, Will realises that Mike had been acting more like the Mike he knew before the upside down. But with that, if he thought about it, he had also been acting like a Mike he didn’t know yet. And then, the night after their conversation, that phone call he overheard with Max. 

> **_“Can I? … Finally! As I was saying, if you’d told me that night in the basement or after the arcade I could have been feeling an awful lot better an awful lot quicker …”_ **

What had they been talking about? What had happened at the arcade? What had made Mike want to call Max first thing the night after he’d come out to Will? Why not Lucas? Or Dustin?

_Why did he call someone else when Will was right there? When El was right there?_

_El._

> **_“He has a girlfriend”_ **
> 
> **_“Does he know that?”_ **

Nick’s words come back to him, echoing through his mind. Of _course_ he knew he had a girlfriend. Of course he did… _?_

And he’s thrown back to summer. He’s thrown back to the bubble of El and Mike. He’s ignoring the fact that something is clearly off, because all he can think about is the fact that Mike is in El’s room, they’re talking and they’re laughing and they’re listening to a song by _The Cure._

> _  
> _**_‘Smear this man across the walls_ ** **_  
> _** **_Like strawberries and cream_ ** **_  
> _** **_  
> _** **_It’s the only way, it’s the only way’_ ** _  
>   
> _

The conflicting noise from El’s bedroom and the TV is starting to overwhelm him, and he finds it worse than the silence. He switches it off again, _The Cure_ now clearer as the beat carries down the hallway. An overwhelming sense of loneliness flows through him and he stands, following the song, walking to El’s room. He doesn’t remember telling himself to move, but here he is, walking, getting closer and closer to El’s room, to _Mike._  
  
 _Mike._ _  
_ _  
_ _Mike._ _  
_ _  
_ _Mike._

 _  
__  
_He’s outside of her bedroom door and before he knows it he is raising his fist ready to knock, the music stopping before he can touch the wood.

“You’ll have to tell him sometime” He hears El say as the record changes track.

He hears a groan

“El, I told you. I can’t- we can’t-”

_What?_ _  
_

_  
_He hates himself for it, but he lowers his fist, listening in.

“Can’t it wait? Until I’m home? It’ll be easier.”

“Mike. It’s been nearly two weeks. It’s not fair”

_Two weeks? What’s been two weeks?_

“It’s not fair to you, it’s not fair to me either. Shouldn’t I get the chance to move on as well?”

“Look. The rest of The Party know anyway. Let’s just wait until I get home, you can tell Will we broke up and I won’t visit alone again”

  
  


_What._

  
  
_The._

Without knocking, without announcing his presence, without _thinking_ , Will forcefully pushes open the door to his sisters bedroom.

Mike and El both jump, sitting up from where they are led on the bed top and tailing.

“You broke up? This whole time? You’ve been broken up?”

His emotions come to a head. His break up, his and Mike’s talks, the knowing looks glances from El. He can’t think because everything is all so _there._

There’s a flicker in the lights

“How long- how- I don’t”

  
  


> **_“He has a girlfriend”_ **
> 
> **_“Does he know that?”_ **

  
  


And he feels lost. And _time_ feels lost and he can’t process that this entire time. This _entire_ time...

“Will calm down for a second okay? How was the date?”

“Really Mike? _Really? Calm down?_ How was the _date?!_ Let’s see, I barely paid attention to the movie. Take a guess why, Mike? Oh, because of _you_ . We then stopped for a very _interesting_ chat in the park. Guess why, Mike? That’s right, because of _you._ Oh and let me tell you about the _best_ part of the evening. That would be when Nick _broke up with me_ . And if you’re wondering why, yep, _because of you”_

The lights continue to flicker.

He knows the reaction is over the top. He knows what’s influencing everything and ultimately it’s more about himself than them, but the words just won’t stop flowing. There’s a part of him that knows what he’s saying isn’t going to fix anything, that he should stop. But he can’t. 

The need to say it outweighs the want to stop.

“How’s those emotions feeling El? How’s that _connection_ of ours? Our wonderful sibling connection which clearly was meaningless because there’s me- oh my god, there’s me listening to everything, being there for you- both of you- I’m so _stupid_ . So so _stupid.”_

“Will, please. We didn’t do it to hurt you.”

“Why didn’t you just say then? I don’t understand what was actually to be gained from doing this. Why would I care if you had broken up? Just someone explain to me what that actually did?”

Mike and El are silent, he notices El shoot Mike a sharp look

“Will, I _can’t_ ”

“I wish you’d listened to your own advice then and just said _nothing_.”

“Will, I know we didn’t tell you but I don’t understand why you’re so upset-“

“Who else knew about this? The Party did, apparently.”

“Nancy was no help so I went to talk to Lucas, and Max was there-”

“So everyone knew before me, then?”

Mike is silent

“He didn’t mean to hurt you, Will” El reassures him, but her brother ignores her

“And Max? Since when do you ask her for relationship advice? Since when did she become your _best friend?_ I heard you on the phone. What happened at the arcade? Or is that another big secret you can’t tell me?”  
  
“Will this is ridiculous-” Mike says, standing from the bed and walking over to face Will.  
  
“No Mike. What’s ridiculous is that I was _happy_ before you got here and everything just turned to _shit_ once you arrived. You’ve said things, and you’ve got into my head and you just- you’ve ruined _everything_ .”  
  
“I wasn’t trying to ruin _anything_ , Will. The opposite actually. I thought if me and El could keep this relationship _thing_ up, could keep you from knowing, that I could act happy about you and Nick, leave after New Years and keep things normal. I thought I owed you that, at least. I told you I was happy for you and I _meant it_ . You were moving on and I was _trying my best_ to not ruin that”  
  
“Act happy? What do you mean, _act happy_ ?” Will spits out “You haven’t _acted happy,_ at all. You’re doing everything you did that summer, you’re ruining _everything_ ”  
  
“Fine, you want to do this? Yeah I _had to try_ to _act happy_ because in reality it was _killing me._ You want to know what happened at the arcade? Really? I was asked out on a date by this guy. Jesse. And he was _nice,_ and he _made me laugh_ and he gave me _his number_ but guess what, Will? He _wasn’t you”_

  
Mike freezes.

Will’s shaking. 

The lightbulb shatters.

“You told Nick.”  
  
“Will-”  
  
“That day on the beach-you told him. Didn’t you?”  
  
“He guessed but I swear I told him I wasn’t going to do anything about it. _I swear_ Will. I never meant for this to hurt you”

“Well congratulations, Mike. _You did’_  
  
“Will-” It’s El tries this time

“No. I’m done. I’m _so done._ You can sleep in here tonight, I don’t want to see you. You shouldn’t have too much trouble convincing mom, she probably already knows too, right?”  
  
“Will, _please-”_  
  
“ _Fuck you_ , Mike”

* * *

**December 30th, 1986. Benton, Illinois.**

A knock on El’s bedroom door is what wakes them up the next morning. Mike had finally fallen asleep around 2am, after he and El had had a _very_ long and _very_ awkward conversation, that involved far too many tears from him, about everything. A stark contrast to their conversation not even 5hrs prior.  
  
 ** _Who was the boy at the arcade?_ _  
__  
_**_**How long has this been going on?** _ _  
__  
_But she’d also asked him if he was okay, and squeezed his hand before she herself fell asleep. Due to the fact that Will wouldn’t even let El in his room to get the camp bed, Mike had, again _very_ awkwardly, had to share a bed with El. She’d rolled her eyes when he offered to take the floor and told him it was fine. Still, he kept his distance and insisted they top and tailed.  
  
He could hear the conversation from his family when he got home. 

_‘How was New Years, Mike?’_

_‘Oh well, I shared a bed with my ex-girlfriend because her brother, who I have feelings for, was dumped because his boyfriend found out and now everyone is mad at me.’_ _  
  
_

“Just a minute!” El’s voice calls from next to him. She sits up, swinging her legs over her side of the bed and walks to her bedroom door. Opening it, she is met with her mom and Mike hears

“Good morning, honey. Can I come in?” 

“Is everything ok?” El asks, but she opens the door wider for Joyce, and turns walking back into the bedroom.  
  
Joyce follows her in, a smile on her face until she sets her gaze on Mike who is now sat up against the headboard of El’s bed, in an attempt to pre-emptively diffuse the situation and the inevitable conversation they were bound to have.  
  
“Mike?” She looks alarmed and Mike realises the diffusion attempt hasn’t worked.

“We’re not-I mean, nothing _happened_ . Me and El, we’re still broken up. It’s fine”  
  
“You’re broken up. So. You’re in her bed?”  
  
Mike feels an overwhelming sense of relief that Hopper wasn’t home yet. A part of him _did_ feel bad for having the thought, knowing that El wanted her dad with her, but seeing the look on Mrs Byers’ face and knowing that Hop _was_ relatively safe and well, removed any guilt.  
  
“No-well, yes. But that’s not why. Me and Will had a fight and he kicked me out”  
  
Joyce’s brows furrow  
  
“You and Will fought? Is he ok? Are you ok?”  
  
“He wouldn’t even let me go in to get the camp bed, mom” El supplies, joining Mike back on the bed  
  
The frown grows more pronounced. She turns to El  
  
“Is he mad at you, too?”  
  
“He’s mad we didn’t tell him we broke up” El tells her  
  
“That doesn’t seem like enough of an issue for him to kick you out though, Mike”  
  
 _Ah._ _  
__  
__Well._  
  
“There’s a lot more that we’re working through, that _I’m_ working through and I know you’re worried about Will but it wouldn’t be fair to him to tell you until we’ve sorted it, or he’s spoken to you. Whichever comes first” Mike tells her, a sheepish smile on his face  
  
“Right” Joyce nods “I care about you both just as much, don’t forget that. I won’t pry any more than I need to, as long as you know what you’re doing and you’re able to work it out that’s ok with me”

_But what if I don’t and what if we can’t?_ Mike thinks

 _  
_ _  
_He doesn’t voice this however, he just gives Joyce a smile instead.  
  
“Why did you want to talk to me, mom?” El asks after a little while  
  
Joyce turns to face her daughter, a huge smile replacing the frown. She sits in front of El at the foot of the bed and takes her hands in her own.  
  
“It’s about your dad” she says “He can come home”  
  
The lights flicker again and Mike makes a note to talk about this new development. He hadn’t realised El’s powers were returning, and it was clear they weren’t quite under control yet. Especially when last night, it seemed _Will_ also had some involvement with the unpredictable electrics in the house.  
  
“When? Today? Can I see him?” her energy is contagious and Mike finds himself mirroring the huge smile that was now on her face  
  
Joyce smiles too  
  
“Not today” she says “After everyone has gone home. We think it will be better for him to be away when there are lots of people, and also to avoid the noise of New Years. He has a checkup with Doctor Owens on the 2nd and then he’ll be home on the 3rd”  
  
Before El can say anything else, the door to her room hits the wall with a bang.  
  
“El” Will’s voice rudely interrupts what was a happy conversation “Can you just _stop._ I can feel all of this from my-”  
  
He stops when he spots his mom  
  
“Oh” he mutters “Sorry” He turns to leave but Joyce’s voice calls out  
  
“Where do you think you’re going? Apologise to your sister” she tells him, a slight bite in her tone “And to me, for the fact I’m going to have to fix the dent you’ve put in my wall”  
  
“ _Sorry”_

Mike doesn't think he’s ever heard Will talk to his mom like this.  
  
“My dad is _coming home_ ” El tells him, her happiness overshadowing, if just for a moment, the negativity of the situation.

“Then I guess everything is just going well for _you_ then isn’t it?”

“ _Hey_ ! Will, that’s enough. What’s gotten into you?”  


Mike feels like he should interject, but frankly, he doesn’t know what he can say. He notices that Will makes a deliberate effort to avoid him, almost as if he is ignoring the fact that he exists. 

_Fine Will Byers. Two can play at that gam-_

  
  
“Is that my sweater?-”  
  
Will’s eyes widen, and he finally takes a quick glance at Mike. “Bye”  
  
“Hey! Will” Joyce calls, but he ignores her, leaving the room and heading back to what Mike assumes is his own. He hears the door slam.  
  
Joyce lets out an exasperated sigh, running her hand through her hair “I’m going to go and talk with him. Are you guys going to be alright?” she asks, as she stands from the bed  
  
They both nod at her and she gives them one last small smile as she leaves the room.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
“ _Will_ ” he hears his mom call before she’s pushing open the door to his room, a stern look on her face  
  
“Could you _knock?_ ” he bites, barely looking up from his sketchpad  
  
“I don’t think you get that privilege right now, Will” she retorts, sitting on the bed opposite him and taking the sketch book from him  
  
“Hey! I was drawing”  
  
“Nope. Now you’re talking” She places the book next to her “What’s going on?”  
  
“Give it back”  
  
“Talk first”  
  
“No thanks” 

“Mike said that you’re upset they didn’t tell you they’d broken up” she tries, providing an opening

“Well Mike says a lot of things doesn’t he?” He winces. _Shit._

“What’s happened, honey?” she frowns

  
_Here goes nothing_

_  
_“Nick broke up with me” he says finally, avoiding her gaze

“Oh, honey” she reaches to lift his face up to meet hers. Once he has her gaze she takes one of his hands in hers “I’m sorry. Can I ask what happened?”

He winces again

“He spoke to Mike” 

“I’m sure whatever he’s said was just a misunderstanding”

“Well Mike told him he had feelings for me. Was that a misunderstanding?” 

His mom is silent

“Well I can see how that would complicate things, and why you’d be angry at Mike”

“Well I don’t think he just came out and said it, Mike said Nick _guessed_ , and he told him he wasn’t going to do anything about it, anyway”

“Oh?”

“But-” he pauses, thinking over his words. He wasn’t sure how he would be able to continue the conversation without mentioning the next part anyway “Nick said he could see I felt the same”  
His mom squeezes his hand a little tighter 

“And was he right?” she asks gently

“That’s not the point-”

“ _Will_ ”

“The point is, I was _happy_ , mom. I was _so_ happy and Nick was _great_ and I was starting to feel like he was someone I could _move on_ with and have real feelings for”  
  
“Move on from?”

“Mike. Move on from Mike. “  
  
“I’m angry because I’ve spent _so long_ being in love with him, and I think I’m finally in a place where that could change but he’s been here four days and all my progress has been for nothing. I’m angry because he made me feel like there was no chance, and then I find out he’s been single and being hit on by _boys_ -”

“Honey, you _were_ still with Nick when they broke up, so it shouldn’t have mattered” she says gently, but firm

“I know-it’s just. This whole situation is a mess.” he sighs “Why didn’t they just say something?”

“I think you know the answer to that. Because Mike _didn’t_ want to ruin anything for you. It sounds like he tried really hard not to”

“I wouldn’t go that far. The snide comments when we were playing _Game of Life_ suggest otherwise” but he smiles a little, and his mom does too.  
  
“I just don’t know what to do mom. Nick said talk to him but I can’t. Not yet”  
  
“Well, I still do your laundry and I know that sweater is definitely not yours, so maybe think about the fact that even though you spent the night mad at him, you still went to him for some comfort”

He doesn’t say anything, but reciprocates the second squeeze she gives his hand. She smiles at him, asking her son the same thing she’d asked her daughter _“Are you going to be alright?”_ and at his nod, she leaves to start on breakfast.

* * *

The doorbell rings at 6pm that evening. After a day of El playing mediator to Mike and Will’s constant avoidance of one another, the revelation that Hopper would be coming home on January 3rd and the concept that New Year’s Eve was tomorrow, The Party would be arriving in the morning and the Mike and Will situation was very much the elephant in the room, the Byers household was _tired._

Mike and El are in the living room when it happens- El laying on the couch whilst Mike draped his legs over the side of the armchair. Will, the entire day, had only retreated from his room for a drink or a snack, making a point of avoiding the pair in the living room- though, occasionally glancing over at them both, immediately looking away whenever Mike happened to catch his eye. The music he’d been blasting from his room echoed throughout the whole house, subjecting Mike, El and Joyce to the dulcet tones of _The Smiths._

“He feels like he’s conflicted” El had said after one of Will’s trips through

“I feel like I don’t care” Mike had replied, rolling his eyes, watching as Will walked into his room, shutting his door.

“You’ve been staring at the hallway a lot for someone who _doesn’t care”_

“You know what, El? I really did prefer it when you and Max weren’t friends”

It’s Mike that answers the door, expecting it to be Nancy and Jonathan back from their day in Du Quoin, where they had been picking up food and supplies ready for The Party’s arrival tomorrow. His hello falls flat on his tongue however, when he comes face to face with Nick.  
  
“Why?”  
  
Nick frowns  
  
“I’m here to give Will back some things he left at my house”

“I don’t care about that. Why. Did you. Break up with him _?”_

“I think you know the answer to that, Michael”  
  
“No, actually I _don’t_ , Nicholas. I told you it was fine, that I was not planning on doing anything to hurt your relationship. I told you that I’d be willing to take myself out of Will’s life, if it meant he could stay happy with you”  
  
 _“What?”_  
  
Mike spins around on the spot to face Will, who had come back into the living room after hearing the slightly raised voices.  
  
“I can’t believe that you’d think, that you’d even _consider_ , that would be what I wanted”

“Are you _kidding_ me Will? I can’t say anything right, can I?" 

It’s then that Nancy and Jonathan appear behind where Nick is standing in the doorway. At first, they don’t fully grasp that something is off, assuming that Nick had just come to visit his boyfriend like usual. Jonathan gives a casual “Oh, hey Nick” and when he receives no reply, they both take in the situation in the room.

Nancy breaks first, when she notices the look on her brothers face  
  
“What’s going on?” she frowns  
  
“Well, _that’s_ a loaded question” Mike answers at the same time Nick says “Will and I broke up”  
  
“What?” It’s Jonathan again, and he almost drops the shopping bags he’s holding “Why?”  
  
“Apparently, it’s all my fault” Mike tells him “Will’s pissed because me and El didn’t tell him we’d broken up-”  
  
“You and El broke up?” Nick interrupts  
  
“Oh, guess it wasn’t just me who didn’t know” Will adds, his tone laced with sarcasm

“Will, stop” It’s El this time making her way from the couch to stand next to Mike, arms folded.

“You know what? I can’t do this again. Nick, it’s been a _pleasure._ Have a nice life. Oh by the way, I want my sweater back Will.” Mike storms off, making a point of choosing a path the furthest away from Will possible, and into El’s room slamming the door behind him. Will, looks on, pulling the sleeves down over his hands.

Nancy winces at the sound of the door

“What just happened?” she asks, gesturing to the hallway  
  
“Just Mike being Mike” Will mutters  
  
“Hey, he’s clearly upset”

Jonathan turns to face her “Yeah and so is Will, Nancy”

“Ok, hang on a minute, I didn’t say he wasn’t, but didn’t you just see the state Mike was in?”  
  
“We’ve been having this argument the entire day. I’m tired. Mom is tired. Will and Mike are definitely tired. And I can’t wait to see my dad.” El adds

“Wait, isn’t your dad-” Nick shakes his head “Never mind. Part of the _long story_ I guess”  
Will nods.  
  
“Will, did Mike _say_ something to you? About-” Nancy trails off  
  
“About what? What did Mike say?” Jonathan interrupts 

“Look, let’s just leave it. Can it just _stop_.” Will says, the lights flickering slightly. He takes a breath, composing himself, but still plays with the sleeves of the sweater, “Can we just stop talking about it now. Please.”

Quiet settles over the Byers household for the first time today. Will finds he can hear everything. There is no more static in his brain, no more loud music to drown out his thoughts. He can hear himself breathing, the clock on the wall (still skipping every five seconds), the humming of the fridge from the adjoining kitchen. He feels present in himself for the first time since yesterday, grounded. He feels the way his feet are touching the floor. He feels the comfort of the soft cotton that makes up Mike’s sweater. It’s not just the thoughts that have spiralled and spiralled around his head that are present now, it’s him. Entirely, unequivocally, him. 

Nick breaks his peace.

“Well” he says awkwardly “This has been fun. But I'm just here to drop off a box for Will. Get my jacket back. Will, keep the books, it’s fine, just the jacket”

“We’ll give you two some privacy” El tells them, giving Jonathan and Nancy a look. They clearly don’t want to leave, barely having any answers to the questions they had asked, but they both sigh and reluctantly follow El who had started down the hallway.

“Is that really Mike’s sweater?” Is the first thing Nick asks once everyone else is out of the room. He places the box of Will’s things just inside the Byers’ doorway.

“Oh” Will says, looking down “Yeah. He left it in my room yesterday. I kinda kicked him out?”  
  
Nick lets out a short laugh “I told you to _talk to him_ , not _kick him out”_

“I didn’t say anything I was doing was rational” Will mutters  
  
“I just- I don’t get you, Will” Nick shakes his head “He’s clearly _so_ gone for you. And you are for him, too. Why don’t you want to talk to him?”  
  
“You really are such a weird ex-boyfriend, you know that? Aren’t we supposed to hate each other forever, instead of you giving me relationship advice?” 

“I don’t think I could ever _hate_ you, Will” Nick lets out a small laugh again “Especially not forever. This whole thing sucks. I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t, and I won’t pretend I’m not hurt. And I know you’re hurting, too. But what’s the point of all that hurt if you’re not going to do anything about it?”  
  
“I’ve ruined it _all_ ” Will takes Nick’s jacket from the coat rack, pulling it into his chest.  
  
“That’s not what I saw”

He passes the jacket over, and if he tightens the grasp a little as Nick takes it from him, neither boy mentions it. Nick gives a small thank you  
  
“I better get going. But Will? _Talk to him._ ” 

Will doesn’t speak, the finality of the situation hitting him  
  
“I hope it all works out. Truly Will. I mean it. You deserve to be happy” Nick tells him, shrugging the jacket on.

“I _was_ happy with you” Will tells him before Nick steps outside “I was. I did like you. Really _really_ liked you. I just don’t want to end this without you knowing that”  
  
Nick smiles  
  
“I know”

And he turns.

It’s when Nick walks out of the house and the door closes behind him that Will properly lets himself process the last 24 hours.

  
  
_Oh my god I’m in love with Mike._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnnnnnnnd breathe. Thanks for reading! Follow us both on tumblr [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


	12. Oh there's lots that I could say, but just hold me now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Can we see how that goes, just for now? Could that be enough?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which the boys finally talk.
> 
> We hope you enjoy.
> 
> You can check out the playlist for the fic (that we will be continuously updating) [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)
> 
> \- [Will's Mixtape](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/15hvV7sn9hCFpnusL8u6pI?si=1YHK49MbQdmsr9QLpgpeww)  
> 

**New Years Eve, 1986. Benton, Illinois.**  
  
Mike wakes up early on New Years Eve, finding that the thoughts swirling around his head were keeping him from awake, although the fact that he kept being kicked in the face whenever El moved in her sleep, definitely didn’t help.

It’s around 6am when he finally gives up on drifting back off so he carefully, as not to wake El, climbs out of the bed, reaching into his duffel bag to pull on another sweater (Joyce had put her foot down and told Will to at least let Mike go into his room to get his clothes and, though Will had conceded, he was conveniently making a drink whilst Mike was in there) and heads to the kitchen to make coffee.  
  


“Nancy?” 

Walking in, he finds his sister, sitting on the couch, holding a mug. She’s surrounded by blankets and a pillow suggesting this was where she’d slept last night. Mike feels a surge of guilt. 

“Just made some coffee. There should be enough in the pot” Nancy tells him, in lieu of an answer

“You look as bad as I feel” Mike tells her as he heads for the coffee pot  
  
“Gee thanks Mike, good morning to you too” 

He pours himself a mug, not stopping at the fridge for milk, before joining Nancy on the couch, pulling one of her blankets over himself.

Neither of them say anything for a little while; they sit, the drink, they’re surrounded by silence.

“So why are you up?” It’s Nancy that breaks it, still not looking at him

“Could ask the same about you”

“Me and Jonathan had an argument”

“The Byers are on a roll”

“Is Will still mad at you?” _Mad might be an understatement at this point_ he thinks, taking a sip of his coffee. He shudders slightly at the taste, mentally adding this to his increasingly long list of things he’s _apparently_ got wrong in the past two days. _  
_  
“I mean he won’t come near me if that’s any indication” Mike shrugs, taking another sip, shuddering again.

“What happened?” She asks, finally turning to face him. She lifts one knee onto the couch, settling it under her.

“Do you have all day?” Mike laughs humourlessly “What happened with you and Jonathan?”

“We had a little disagreement about-”

“Me and Will?”

“Is there a _youandWill?”_ Nancy’s eyebrow raises 

“I don’t know if there’s a me and Will let alone a _meandwill”_

“Mike, I don’t think either of you know how to be one without the other”

“Well, Will’s doing just fine. Seems happy pretending like I don’t exist”

There’s a quiet again. Mike pulls the blanket a little further up

“I’m sorry that you and Jonathan are fighting. You haven’t broken up have you?”

“No, no. I’m sure we’ll be fine. Just _really_ didn’t want a Jonathan Byers lecture last night”

“Still, I am sorry you’re fighting because of me”  
  
“Mike” Nancy sighs “You didn’t _make_ us fight. You’re my brother. If you think I’m ever going to stand by silently when something hurts you, you really haven’t been paying attention. Besides, Jonathan is just doing the same thing for Will that I’m doing for you. I may be mad at him, but I can’t argue with his logic”

“We’re really keeping this whole thing within the family, huh?”  
  
They both laugh, and it’s slightly more genuine this time.  
  
“I think you should try and talk to Will” she tells him “No matter what the outcome is, you’re going to hate yourself if you don’t try”  
  
“Will’s the one being irrational here” Mike protests “Shouldn’t he be the one coming to me?”  
  
“I didn’t say it made sense. Besides , Will _knows_ he’s being irrational. If anything I’d bet that’s why he’s not coming to you. As someone once told me, _‘only love makes you that crazy’_ ” she gives him a knowing look  
  
“Don’t be ridiculous.” _Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit._

Nancy gives him a look before taking another sip of her coffee.  
  
They hear footsteps coming from down the hallway and both of them look up to see Jonathan entering the living room. He looks tired, Mike notes, as if he didn’t get much sleep either. He fixes Mike with a small glare before giving Nancy an awkward smile. Nancy, holds his gaze for a moment, waiting.

“Truce?” he speaks into the silence  
  
“Depends” she says “Apologise to Mike”  
  
“Nancy-”  
  
“Jonathan, I know he’s your brother but you have to admit, Will is being a little dramatic”  
  
Jonathan ignores her, turning back to Mike  
  
“Why didn’t you tell him?” he asks, genuinely curious  
  


Mike stays silent  
  


“Mike you don’t have to say anything” Nancy reassures him “Jonathan, he doesn’t owe you an explanation”  
  


Jonathan ignores her again.  
  


“Why didn’t you tell him you broke up with El?” 

“Jonathan-”  
  
“It’s ok, Nancy” Mike interjects, steadying himself “At first, I didn’t want to make Christmas awkward. I didn’t want anything to be weird, but honestly I think one of the reasons was I using this as an excuse not to tell Will that-”  
  


He hesitates. He’d already told Will, very much in the heat of the moment, but it was already out there. So he takes a breath. And continues.  
  


“I was using it as an excuse not to tell Will that I have feelings for him” 

“Oh”

A pause.  
  


“Right”  
  


Another pause

“Does Will know that? That you have feelings for him?”

“Well, it’s one of the reasons he won’t speak to me so yeah. I’d say so”

“Right.”

Mike was getting really bored of awkward silences. 

Nancy sighs, standing up from the couch, making her way over to Jonathan and taking his hand “Wanna talk?” She briefly turns back to Mike, “You going to be ok?”

He was bored of that, too.

“Really wish people would stop asking me that” he sighs “But yes, you can go”

She nods before beginning to lead Jonathan out of the living room.  
  
“Nancy?” he calls one last time before they disappear down the hallway “Thank you”  
  
Jonathan’s bedroom door closes and Mike finds himself alone. He debates going back into El’s room as not to alarm her when he’s not there, but as the sun starts to show itself through the gap in the curtains in the Byers’ living room, he decides against it- instead, putting his mug on the table and making himself comfortable on the couch. 

_Maybe I’ll just close my eyes for a moment_ he thinks, resting his head on the arm. 

And when he opens them an hour later, mug gone and a blanket (the very same as the one he’d been using on the camp bed in Will’s room) draped over him, he tries to think nothing of it. 

* * *

It’s 12pm when the rest of The Party arrived at The Byers’. As Joyce had gone to visit Hopper again in Sesser, it was down to Jonathan and Nancy to pick up The Party. They had cleared things up between them, for the most part, and had left for the Greyhound station in Mt. Vernon at around 11am to make sure they were there in time for The Party’s arrival.  
  
Leaving Mike, El and Will in yet another uncomfortable silence within the house. Will had retreated to his room, _again_ , so in order to try and cheer Mike up, El had got him to help her select the games for the upcoming, and promised, Party Games Night.

“How about _Game of Life?”_ she says, grinning at him

“No.”

“You can ask Will what you’d name your children”  
  
“Not funny, El” he rolls his eyes at her smile  
  


They end up with a handful of games ready for tomorrow; _Clue, Monopoly, Pictionary_ and _Hungry Hungry Hippos._ When Mike had asked El why she wanted to play the final game on their list, she’d told him it had been a present from her dad during their first proper Christmas. Mike had swiftly added it to the pile after hearing that. They were just carrying the games out into the living room when the front door flies open  
  
“Wheeler, Byers, Hopper! The best part of your Christmas has arrived” Dustin’s voice rings throughout the house

El ditches the games on the couch, running over to Max and pulling her into a hug. Lucas, walking in after her, raises his eyebrow at Mike “Where’s my greeting?”  
  
Mike rolls his eyes at him but heads over to greet his friends.  
  
He gives them a quick hug and a _‘Merry Christmas’_ and can hear El and Max catching up (if gossiping counted as catching up) next to them. 

“Good to see you, man” Dustin says, pulling away. He looks around the Byers’ vacant living room “Where’s Will?” 

_Ah._

“Here” Will’s voice speaks from the living room entryway. It’s the first time in two days, Mike hasn’t heard him sound _angry_ . When he turns to face him, Will looks sheepish and is still wearing _Mike’s sweater._ The sight causes a peculiar feeling to settle in his chest. _He looks good in that,_ Mike thinks. He quickly tears his gaze away.

Lucas and Dustin push past Mike, so that they can give Will the same greeting. El and Max had headed to the couch, continuing their catch up and seemingly being oblivious to the boys.  
It’s when Lucas pulls away from Will and asks _“So, what have you guys been up to?”_ which is followed by Dustin’s _“When can we meet the boyfriend?”_ that the happy mood caused by their reunion shifts.  
 _  
_

_Ah._

The room goes quiet. No one says a word.

“Is he coming over later?”  
  
More silence.

“...Have you been doing _nothing?_ ”

Jonathan and Nancy walk in with The Party’s bags and Mike finds he’s never more grateful for the existence of his older sister.  
  
“We think that’s everything out of the car. Where do you want us to put everything?” Jonathan says, closing the door behind them.

_Ah._

“There’s plenty of space in _my_ room for _Dustin and Lucas_ ” Will responds, Mike ignoring his clearly targeted response.

“Oh, that’s _fine_ by me. Max, you’ve got a sleeping bag right? I’m already in with El, so you’ll have to have the floor” Mike answers back, a bite in his tone, ignoring the guilt he feels after responding in that manner. 

“Wait. No one said I was sharing with _Wheeler”_ Max says, incredulous “Will, why isn’t he in with you? Mike, why are you sharing a bed with El? _”_  
  
“Yeah, dude, how did you get Mrs. Byers to agree to that?” Dustin asks

“Okay!” Nancy interjects “We’ll put your things away and we’ll leave you to catch up. Jonathan?”  
  
And with that, she leads Jonathan back to his room, leaving yet another awkward silence in the Byers living room.  
  
Mike sighs.

_Here we go, I guess._ _  
__  
_

“Ok, what is going on? I don’t care who explains but what gives?” Lucas asks, arms crossed

There’s another beat as Mike notices El looks between himself and Will. She focuses on Will a little longer, a strange expression across his face. The lamp flickers briefly next to him as he meets her gaze. He shakes his head, takes a breath, and looks away.

El sighs, rolling her eyes “Will and Nick broke up”

“ _Really?”_ Max says, a strange look of surprise on her face. Mike feels her glance at him and does his best to avoid any semblance of eye contact with her. He feels grateful when she pulls away, giving her attention to Lucas, raising an eyebrow

“Wait, did _everyone_ know?” Will responds, clearly noticing Max’s less than subtle glances, hurt replacing anger this time. Mike flinches as Will finally acknowledges him “Did you tell _everyone_?”

“ _Really_ Will? We’re doing this again?”

“Wait” Dustin chimes in, unhelpfully “What did I miss?” He glances around the room, seeing the awkward look on everyone’s faces “What aren’t you guys telling me?” 

“Oh, don’t worry Dustin. _Mike_ didn’t tell me, either” Will bites sarcastically. He pauses afterwards though, sighing. “El’s right. Nick and I broke up. I don’t want to get into it but if _Mike_ wants to tell you, he can. I’ll be in my room if you need me” and he heads in the same direction as Jonathan and Nancy.  
  
The Party watches on until he closes his door. _There he goes again._ Mike thinks, running a hand through his hair before finally resting it on his forehead. _Guess I can now, officially, add New Year 1987 to the least favourite list along with Christmas._

It’s The Party, switching their attention back to him- a mixture of glares, confusing and general bafflement- that pulls him out of his thoughts. He takes in the room and gulps.

“What. Did. You. _Do?_ ” Max, not so much asks, but demands  
  
“I didn’t actually do anything” Mike defends himself  
  
“That’s true” El agrees “We just didn’t tell Will that we broke up”  
  
“You guys broke up?” ” Dustin asks, looking between the two “ _When?_ ”

“Two weeks ago?” El shrugs from her position on the couch “I broke up with Mike, it’s not a big deal”  
  
“Thanks, El” Mike says sarcastically, rolling his eyes

“Ok, so you didn’t tell him. Why can’t you be in the same room?” Dustin asks, a question that had been asked multiple times, by multiple people in the last day alone.

“Well since everybody else knows, I might as well fill you in Dustin. I kinda-”  
  
Max snorts “There’s no _kinda_ about it”  
  
“As I was _saying,_ turns out I’m not just into _girls_ ” Mike rubs at his neck, ignoring the satisfied look on Max’s face “And it was Will’s boyfriend that _kinda_ helped me realise that fact”  
  
“Excuse me, I helped-”  
  
“Not _now,_ Max” 

“Wait, so Will and Nick broke up because you thought his boyfriend was hot?” Dustin asks, processing the information overload  
  
“ _No._ Nick’s not hot” Mike scoffs, frowning at Dustin  
  
“Then who-Oh. _Shit_ . You like _Will?!”_  
  
“And we have a winner”  
  
“ _Shut up_ , Max”  
  
The front door opens again, this time it’s Joyce, who has a huge smile on her face. She notices the extra faces in the room, and seems that she’s in such a happy mood that Will’s absence doesn’t register immediately.  
  
“Dustin, Lucas, Max, it’s good to see you all! Did you have a nice Christmas?”  
  


The Party’s answers overlap. Mike and El share a look.

“Yes, Mrs Byers”  
  
“It was great!”  
  
“Fabulous, thank you”  
  


“How is he?” El’s voice adds to the group. Her mom turns to face her after smiling at the others  
  
“He’s doing good. We’re still all set for him to come home on the 3rd” she reassures her daughter  
  
El jumps off the couch, pulling her mom into a hug “I just can’t wait to see him”  
  
Joyce squeezes her right back “I know, honey. He’s missed you so much”  
  
El pulls away slightly, smiling up at her mom. Joyce gives her one more quick squeeze before telling her daughter “I’m going to go check on Will. Is he still in his room?” at El’s nod she glances at The Party, gives a quick “I’m sorry for my son’s manners” and heads to his bedroom, Mike’s gaze following her as she leaves, the door shutting before he can get a glimpse of what’s going on inside.

“Who’s coming home?” Dustin asks, sitting in the now vacant spot on the couch “It sounds like you’re getting a puppy” 

_Well. This will be fun._   
  


“It’s not a puppy” El shakes her head, as if to say _silly, Dustin_ “It’s _my dad._ He’s _alive_ ” 

Mike breaks yet _another_ silence

“So. How did you all spend Christmas?” A sheepish grin on his face.

Lucas drops himself into the armchair.

“What the hell has _happened_ here?!”  
  


* * *

6pm finds The Party, in El’s room. It’s when Lucas is laying across Max’s sleeping bag, hands over his eyes and Max is staring at him, arms crossed that Mike knows he’s messed up. It was Dustin’s turn for what they’d dubbed _Will Duty_ , but were becoming increasingly annoyed by the constant switching of rooms. The Party refused to discuss what Will was talking about, but when Mike’s points seemed to be dismissed, or were received by a bored expression, he couldn't help but wonder if they were hearing the same conversation twice.

But that wasn’t his concern. That was a Will problem, something he’d resigned himself to not caring about, anymore, for the foreseeable future.

For the most part.

“I have to hand it to you Mike. Pretty impressive mess of things you’ve made here. I didn’t think it was possible to dig yourself in a bigger hole. And yet. Here you are” Max states, not one bit of sympathy in her voice.

“What did I do Max? What did I _actually_ do? I gave Nick the go ahead, I gave him the approval. I gave up something I never came here to get.”

“Let’s see if I’ve got this right, you and El break up, you telling her, and I quote ‘Don’t tell him. Not yet’, you act up the entire time you’re around Nick, you flirt with Will-“

“I _never_ did that”

“ _Forever at your service, Will the Wise_ ” El chimes in

“That wasn’t flirting that was a genuine-“

“You flirt with Will, whilst he thinks you’re with his sister. You tell his boyfriend you like his boyfriend, all whilst the boyfriend still thinks you’re with his sister. You tell Will he’s _radiant_ I mean really? And the icing on the cake has to be Nick breaks up with Will and Will finds out about you and El being in a fake relationship the entire time because you decided to speak a bit too loud. Oh yeah. And you nearly broke up Jonathan and Nancy so well done Mike. Congratulations.”

“Look don’t blame El for this”

“Oh I don’t Mike. I _Absolutely_ don’t”

Mike groans, throwing himself back onto El’s bed rubbing at his eyes “He hates me”

“Oh my god I don’t know what’s worse. This or your complete denial from a few months back”

Lucas removes his hand, turning his face to look at Max “You said he was going to do this-”

_Hang on_

“I’m sorry Lucas, Max said _what?”_

They remain quiet. Mike, sits himself back up, looking between them, none of them meeting his eyes.

“Ok, Lucas it’s your-” There’s a soft knock at the door, it’s Dustin. He notices all the eyes now on him, looking amongst the group. Mike scowling, El giving him a subtle indication to _‘get out whilst he can’_

“I’ll come back later-”

“Oh no, Dustin come in, join us. Lucas was just telling me how they’ve been talking about me and my _feelings_ for the last few months-”

“Weeks actually-”

“Does it _matter?”_

“Mike, stop being so dramatic”

“I’m _not_ being dramatic. I am _far_ from dramatic” He folds his arms tighter across his chest “So what were you all saying? Come on, you might as well tell me. Oh, and don’t worry, the irony of you all lecturing me for ‘outing’ Will and then you two gossiping about how I liked Will when the only person I’d disclosed that to out of you guys was Max, which by the way was only a few days ago, is definitely not lost”

“We didn’t ‘out’ you, as such” Lucas carefully begins, taking one for the team “More, hoping you would have figured it all out by New Year so that it wouldn’t be awkward. Evidently, that didn’t help”

_A beat._

“Great. That’s just great.”

Mike couldn’t say he wasn’t expecting them to talk. Of course not, and he knew a lot of this was coming out of his own frustration with how things had gone down over the last couple of days. If he couldn’t voice this to Will, then here was the next logical choice. He’d feel guilty later but right now, he was stuck. Completely and utterly stuck.

“What do I do? What am I supposed to do?” he rubs at his temples, shaking his head, “What am I meant to do to make this better? There’s nothing”

“You could just talk to Will” Dustin shrugs, flopping himself onto El’s beanbag.

“Absolutely not. If he won’t talk to me then I’m not talking to him-”

“Pretty sure that’s what caused your problem in the first place. Not talking?”

“I am _not_ talking to Will”

“I’ve made up my mind. This is definitely worse than the denial” Max interjects

“Give me a reason why I should talk to him. The last two days since Nick broke up with him he’s ignored me, kicked me out of his room and hasn’t even given me a proper reason why. You know, I was happy, happy keeping all of this in. Happy just pretending that there was nothing. That I never felt anything for Will. And I could pretend that Nick was just there. He was just a part of Will’s life that I would have to deal with. Was it ever mentioned that I told Nick that I would cut myself out if it meant Will would be happy? That I would let them get on with their lives and just not be part of it if it meant that he can keep smiling like he has been? Was that ever spoken about? The fact that I _love him too much_ that I would rather be miserable if it meant that he could continue being happy with someone else?!”

_Oh._

The Party look on. Lucas is now sitting up, El is wide eyed, Dustin is suppressing a grin, Max looks smug.

“I think,” she starts, “There’s your reason to talk to Will, Mike”

“It’s too late” Mike mutters “As I said, he hates me”  
  
“Will doesn’t _hate_ you, Mike,” El reassures him “I _know_ he doesn’t” she adds, giving him a _look._ _  
__  
_“Doesn’t mean he’s suddenly going to want to talk to me”  
  
“But you have to _try_ ” Max tells him, but she has a softer tone in her voice now “Talk to Will. He might tell you to leave him alone, he might tell you he hates you, but at least then you’ll _know._ Anything has to be better than you sat here wallowing in misery. We had enough of that back when Nick was around”

“Do you wanna be on ‘ _Will Duty’_ next, Mike?” Dustin suggests  
  
“No. Not yet” he shakes his head “I need to think, first”  
  
Dustin looks around the room, but when everyone refuses to meet his eyes, he sighs, standing from the bean bag “Me again, then” and he heads out of the room, back to Will.  
  


* * *

  
“Heya buddy”

Will looks up from his sketchpad, over at his door

“Dustin? Your turn again already?”

“Can I not just have a chat with my friend?”

Will rolls his eyes “I’m not an idiot” and if Will hears Dustin mutter _debatable_ under his breath, he chooses to ignore it “No-one else wants to talk with me, then?”

“Hey, no, it’s not like that-”  
  
“Then what is it like, Dustin?”  
  
Dustin takes a breath, thinking over his next words carefully  
  
“If Mike were to come in, hypothetically, would you listen to him?” he finally says  
  
Will’s head shoots up from his sketchbook  
  
“Is he coming?” There’s a panic in his voice and he pulls the sweater sleeves over his hands again, the motion calming him  
  
“No not yet” Dustin reassures  
  
“But he will be? Later?” Will asks, and the look on Dustin’s face is confirmation enough. He motions to Dustin to close the door, who obliges, giving Will a curious look. Will pats the bed, motioning him to sit down  
  
“What’s he been saying about me?” Will can’t help himself but ask “Is he mad?”  
  
“I don’t think so?” Will can tell that Dustin is trying to be reassuring but the slight question at the end of his sentence fills Will with a panic again “He hasn’t said so, not really”  
  
Will sets the sketchbook next to him, placing his hands in his lap, still fiddling with the sleeves  
  
“I’ve really made a mess of things” he sighs  
  
“Oh come on, Will” He says, playfully pushing at Will’s leg “It’s _you and Mike._ I don’t think there is anything you can’t fix. Sure you avoiding him wasn’t great, but I guess he kinda did the same when you came out. I’m sure he’ll understand that you don’t feel the same way and eventually he’ll move on and you can start to fix your friendship. He’s your best friend and he’s never given up on you that easily-”  
  


Will looks up as Dustin pauses. He’s studying Will’s sweater with an air of familiarity.  
  
“Wait” he says slowly “Isn’t that Mike’s-” he gestures to the sweater

Will shifts uncomfortably under his gaze  
  


“Oh my god, you _do_ feel the same?” _  
__  
_“Why do you _think_ Nick broke up with me?” Will retorts, looking back down at his hands  
  
Dustin throws his hands up in the air “Then why are you both _wallowing_ and not doing anything about it?” 

“Because-” He sighs again “Because, obviously we- because I just- I don’t know, Dustin. I don’t know”  
  
“Well, can you ‘ _don’t know’_ together because we’ve been here approximately 5 hours and it’s already exhausting” 

“Well, you didn’t have to take _two ‘Will Duty’_ shifts, I thought it was Lucas’ turn”  
  


Dustin groans, standing off the bed and heading toward the door calling _“LUCAS!”_ as he leaves  
  


Will picks up his sketchbook once again.  
  


* * *

  
  
“This is ridiculous” Mike blurts out from his spot in the armchair at around 10:30pm that night. “We’re about to ring in a new year, we were supposed to be all together and yet Will is _still_ wallowing in his room”  
  
“He’s in the garden actually” Jonathan tells him, walking into the living room “I just went to check on him, and looked outside when I couldn’t find him in his room”  
  
“It’s 40 degrees!” Mike says “It’s _December._ What is he _doing?_ ”  
  
“Mike, do you even need to ask that question after the way he’s been acting the last couple days?”  
  
“That’s it!” Mike sighs, standing up from the armchair “I’m going to talk to him” ( _“Oh thank God”- Dustin mutters from the couch)_

He looks over at El, who meets his gaze “How is he feeling?”

“Calm”

“I’ll take it.”

He begins walking out of the living room, hearing Lucas ask El “Wait, how would you know?” 

_Oops._

“Not now Lucas. I’ll be back. Hopefully with Will”

And with that, he heads to the back door.  
  


The garden is only illuminated by the colorful christmas lights that the Byers kept up all year round. El and Joyce had put them up not long after they’d moved in. When Will had asked why, as it had taken multiple extension cords to plug them in inside and hang them outside, he’d simply been told by his mom _‘they brought you back to me.’_

He spots Will in the darkness, he’s sat, with his back to the house, on the rickety old swing that was attached to one of the big trees in the garden. It had been left by the previous owners and the Byers had never taken the time to take it down. The crunch of the leaves and twigs under his feet as he walks toward the swing, alerts Will to his presence. _  
__  
_“Jonathan, I said leave me alone” Will says, not turning around  
  
“It’s not Jonathan”  
  
Will spins round so fast on the swing that he almost topples off. Mike holds back a laugh at the expression on his face  
  
“Hi” Mike says finally  
  
Will scuffs at the ground with his sneaker “Hi”  
  
“He speaks!” Mike flinches “Sorry. I didn’t come out here to argue”  
  
“What did you come out here to do then, Mike?” Will asks, his voice carefully composed  
  
“It’s finally my turn on ‘ _Will Duty’”_ At Will’s scowl he adds “Bad joke. I’m here to talk? Hopefully”  
  


Will stays silent  
  


“Come on, Will. I _hate_ this. This isn’t us”  
  
“Keeping secrets also isn’t us but I guess you didn’t get that memo” Will rolls his eyes  
  
“Will, I said I was _sorry._ I really didn’t do it to hurt you. Look, you can hate me all you want but my reasoning was-”  
  
“I don’t _hate you_. I just hate this whole situation.”

“It’s not exactly been the easiest for me, either” Mike mutters

“Says you who was willing to _take me out of your life if it meant I could be happy_ ”

“Why are you taking that as a _bad_ thing? I was doing it for _you_ Will”

“Why would you ever think that’s something I would want? Why would you think that i’d rather be in a relationship than keep my friend? I’m not-”

“Like me?” Mike answers bitterly

“I didn’t _say_ that”

“You thought it though.”

Will stands up from the swing 

“Fine, you want to talk, let’s talk. I hated last summer. _Hated it._ You and El going back for _early curfew_ the whole time, you turning up late when we’d all arranged to go somewhere, just so you could spend _quality time with your girlfriend._ I don’t understand Mike. I don’t understand how last summer it was like I didn’t exist but now this has happened and you’re quick to cut me out for my own _happiness”_

“Will, I thought we’d already spoken about this. I thought we were _fine_ ”

“So did I until I found out you were going to just leave me. When you were with El, sure, it _hurt_ but I dealt with it. I was still _there,_ I wasn’t going to leave you. Why is it fine for me to have to deal with that but the _second_ i’m in a relationship, you can’t deal with it”

“I think you know why I couldn’t deal with it”

Will throws his hands up in defeat  
  
“You’re such an idiot, Mike” he says “Do you honestly think that watching you with El didn’t _kill me_ . I _hate_ this. So much could’ve been avoided if we’d just _talked_. Months ago.” 

“I didn’t really understand what I was feeling- wait. Months ago? What do you mean months ago?” Mike frowns

Will pauses, before bowing his head, sitting back down on the swing. He takes hold of the old rope and sighs. Mike looks on, still frowning, trying to pattern what Will could mean. 

“I almost told you back in August” His voice is low, playing with the sleeves of the sweater

> _**“It’s not you Mike, it’s me”** _
> 
> _**“Mike, I’m-”** _
> 
> _**“Yeah, Will?”** _
> 
> _**“I’m really happy you came”** _

**  
****  
**The memory swirls around Mike’s head. He remembers their conversation, and he remembers thinking that something had felt _off_ about it. Will had been gearing himself up to tell him something important, and it had felt weird when he’d ended the sentence with _‘happy you came’._ Mike knew Will Byers better than he knew himself at this point, and he knew when he was nervous. He had known, even then, that Will had hidden what he’d truly meant to say.  
  
Will stays silent  
  
“What did you almost tell me, Will?” 

“That I was gay” he finally says, then pauses once again “And-” another pause “And my _feelings_ for you”

Oh.  
  


 _Oh._ _  
_

_  
_Will’s words hit him like a ton of bricks, and suddenly, _everything_ made sense. Why he was the last to find out about Nick, about _Will_ . Why Will had been acting so _angry_ and so _frustrated_ at this whole situation. His comments about finally being happy, about moving on. It’s not so much what Mike had done, it’s that he’d taken so long to do it. He finds he doesn’t know what to say, finds that no words can fully capture the significance of the moment. He opts for humour instead, trying to defuse some of the tension that had built.

“You sure it wasn’t about your feelings for my sweater, instead? You two seem inseparable these days”  
  
Will’s face flushes but he smiles at Mike. The first genuine smile Mike has seen on his face in days. He reciprocates it and just like that, the atmosphere shifts, awkwardness falling away. He finds himself back in the orbit of _mikeandwill_ . An orbit he thought he’d lost.  
  


“It’s comfy” Will shrugs “and it’s _yours”_

“You can keep it. You know, if you _want”_ _  
__  
_Will nods, face still red.  
  
Mike’s is now, too.

“Budge up”  
  
“It’s a one person swing, Mike” but he’s smiling

“We’ll make room”  
  
He sits down next to Will, and it _is_ a tight squeeze, but they _fit together_ . Mike feels that feeling in his chest again and _finally,_ there’s calm.

“So,” Will begins, “I may have overreacted. A little bit.” 

“I should have told you”

“Yeah, I still don’t really get why you didn’t”

They look at each other and laugh. They hold the glance for a moment, their eyes soft before Mike feels his stomach flip, he wonders if Will’s is doing the same. He pulls away, smiling to himself, looking back at the house for a moment, and if he sees the curtains in the one of the bedrooms move, he pretends not to notice.

“I dunno. At the time, I couldn’t think, I wasn’t thinking. I guess I didn’t want to make the holidays weird and I was figuring stuff out. But also telling people we’d broken up made it real-” Will begins to speak, “-not so fast ok? It wasn’t the fact that El and I had broken up that was bothering me. But by saying we’d broken up, that invited questions and questions I don’t think I was ready to answer, or facts I was ready to accept. It made _that_ real” Mike runs his hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes “I really didn’t mean to ruin everything with you and Nick”

“No, no. You didn’t. Spending time with you, apart from _that_ night. It’s been- you didn’t ruin it”

“You and Nick broke up because of me. You said that”

Will goes quiet

“Will?”

Mike looks over to see Will had his eyes closed. He takes a deep breath and Mike’s stomach is everywhere.

“We did break up because of _you”_

A pause.

“And I think I’ve been annoyed because since you got here that’s where my mind has been. I was so frustrated because this thing, that’s been so present for so many years, finally gave me a chance to move on. And I was moving on, but when you spoke to me, that night, said those words, the idea of moving on, but without you? I couldn’t.”

He bows his head, looking down at the ground

“He was so _good_ Mike. So good”

“Yeah, Nick was really cool” Mike says, rolling his eyes

The next thing he feels is Will making an attempt to push him off the swing. He grabs the hold of the old rope, turning to face Will, to be greeted with a mock angry expression, before it transforms into a wide smile

“Shut up” Will says chuckling, giving him one final playful push

“Hey, I have reason to be annoyed. For starters he was proposing without a diamond ring and had no plans as to what he was calling your baby girl”

“And you would have had a plan? And you _do_ remember it was a game?”

“One that he _should_ have been playing on his own” a pause “And yeah, I would’ve had a plan. You deserve anything you want, Will” 

Will uses his feet to rock the swing slightly, as they enjoy a moment of comfortable silence

“You go back to Hawkins in a day”

“Two. It’s not midnight yet”

“Two then. You go back in two days”

“Yeah”

There’s a pause again

“Going to hit up the arcade?”

Mike knows what he’s implying and everything suddenly feels very _real_. Like there was a monumental shift happening, about to happen.

For the first time, since their argument two days prior, he felt it. He understood completely.

“I would but there’s a problem”

“What’s that?”

“I have feelings for this guy. I’ve known him since we were kids, since we were five. Met him on a swing too”

“Oh”

“It scares me. Terrifies me actually”

A beat.

“It scares me too”

“I don’t want to ruin what we have. Because if that happens, I don’t know what I’d do. I can’t imagine me without him. I don’t think I ever have”

“Me neither. I don’t want that either. I can’t have that”

Mike looks down at Will’s hand, his fingers tapping against his thigh. He picks up his own hand, also trembling, clenching it a few times before making a move, moving his hand over to Will’s, brushing the front of his hand before hooking his little finger around Will’s. He responds, closing his finger around Mike’s.

“But I really like him. _Really_ like him.” Mike gives him a quick look “Can we see how that goes, just for now? Could that be enough?”

They’re both looking at their hands before their eyes meet again

“This can be enough”

_This can be enough._

Mike pulls tighter and feels Will do the same and Mike feels lighter than he has for months, overcome with a feeling of peace. His mind betrays him for a moment, as he finds himself looking down at Will’s lips ( _No Mike. We’re not doing that._ ) He quickly looks away, meeting Will’s eyes again, noticing his face is flushed. He can feel his own burning, too.

“Ugh _El_.” Will groans, resting his free hand on his forehead

The moment is broken, Mike starts to pull his finger away, before Will chases it pulling it right back.

“Now, let me finish,” He teases, “Ever since the argument, it’s been so hard to block all the emotions”

“Your _connection?”_ Mike asks, curiously

“Yeah, we used to have to look at one another to ‘tap in’. That’s what happened when we visited for thanksgiving last year? (“ _Oh, that’s what that was”- Mike responds)_ I used to be able to somewhat block it, or at least I could break it. But now, it just seems that there’s no filter, everything is just so present” He knocks at his head a few times

“Want to go inside then? Give her a piece of your mind, but you know- not your mind mind”

Will snorts, “Yeah let’s go in, turns out sulking on a swing in the garden in the middle of winter isn’t the best of ideas”

Mike stands, pulling Will with him, their fingers still linked. He begins to lead him into the house “Come on, pretty sure The Party has already put on Dick Clark, don’t want to miss the ball drop”

They drop their hands as they enter the house and Mike finds he already misses him, missing that small touch. If you told Mike that this is how his New Years was going to end up, he wouldn’t have believed you. By the time they both reach the living room, Mike notices that The Party are looking everywhere but the entrance way, and their positions are ever so _slightly_ different from before- Lucas is ‘focused’ on the TV, Dustin on his right, intensely examining the remote with Max and El, on the floor, reading a magazine.

“Guys?” It’s Will that breaks the silence

The Party all turn at once, keeping their expressions as casual as possible. _Subtle guys, really subtle_

“Oh, hey Will, Mike” Dustin starts, Mike noting he’s obviously trying to suppress a grin, “Everything alright?”

“Great”

“Fine”

Mike looks over to El, who’s biting her lip, a small smile on her face. He glances back to Will who’s also clocked her reaction. He wasn’t exactly sure how this _connection_ of theirs worked, he wasn’t entirely sure they did either but as El’s expression changes to a look of disappointment, eliciting a slight groan, Mike can’t help but feel that that his suggestion of Will giving her a ‘piece of his mind’ was taken too literally. 

“Hey,” He feels a hand brush his down his arm, stopping at his wrist. He turns to face Will “I’ll be right back”

“Oh, I’ll come with you”

Will laughs slightly, using his finger tips to draw small shapes on his wrist “I’m going to the bathroom Mike. Don’t think I’ll need help with that. So, you catch up, with everyone and...I’ll be back in a moment”

Will gives Mike a sly grin, breaks the small touch and Mike finds he just about has time to mouth ‘I hate you’ before Will turns and walks towards the bathroom.

Mike sighs, turning back to their friends that are all looking on expectantly.

“Ok,” he starts “hit me”

“What happened?”

“Tell us everything”

“I don’t have to share a room with you now right?”

“Did you _kiss_?”  
  


“What? Dustin. No”

“But you two are together, _right?_ …”

“Not exactly.” Mike says again, as he moves to sit down in the vacant armchair.

The Party collectively groan.

“You’re actually kidding me” Max throws her arms in the air “Why are you such a moron, Mike?”

“It’s a big thing ok? We’ve spoken about things and have mutually decided that, this is _fine”_

A pause

“Once again, I reiterate, why are you such a moron, Mike”

“Look, I can’t lose him. I can’t. I’m worried that if we change things, change us, and it doesn’t work out that he’ll be gone from my life forever. I know what it feels like to have lost him and I can’t do it again”  
  
“So what happens next time then? What was the point of Nick breaking up with him in the first place and what happens when another boyfriend comes along” Lucas interjects

“I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we’re not in the mood to go through this again”

“Wow, thanks for the support” Mike rolls his eyes

“I’m just saying, you kind of went through it, and by you going through it, we went through it. It’s not fair to you, or to Will”  
  


It’s then that Will walks back into the room. There is an awkward silence as he takes in the look on the faces of his friends. He blushes slightly, but makes his way over to the armchair where Mike is sat. Mike automatically shifts to make room for him, and Will sits down next to Mike both getting comfortable in the small space. Mike asking if Will has enough room ( _“There’s more room than on the swing”- Will replied)_ distracts the boys for a second and they miss the very knowing look Lucas gives Max, El and Dustin and the way that Max rolls her eyes back at him. 

_This is fine. Absolutely fine. We’re fine_

There’s a comfortable silence for a while as they watch the festivities from Times Square- Dustin occasionally pointing out the crowd’s banners ( _“Impeach Reagan? How was that allowed on TV?”)_ and if the lights flicker every so often no-one comments. Mike wasn’t sure if it was El or Will doing it- or a combination of both- but from what he remembered about when it happened during _the argument_ it seemed to be influenced by emotions and Mike could safely presume this time that it was at least a positive reaction this time. 

_We’re both absolutely fine with this. This is good for us-_

“Mike?” Will says softly from next to him, “You ok? You’re in your head again”

“Yeah, i’m ok, sorry just thinking”

“Hence the being in your head” Will teases, lightly flicking Mike’s forehead with his left hand. Mike rolls his eyes before reaching across with his right hand, taking hold of Will’s wrist, bringing it so it’s in the centre of them both. He ignores, for a moment, the voice in his head screaming at him that _this isn’t what just friends do_ and allows his thumb to rest in Will’s palm

“Ok,” Mike starts, his tone matching Will’s “I may be in my head a little”

“Do you want me to move?”

“No. _No_. This is fine”

“Ok good- It’s good that you’re fine I mean. Not that you don’t want me to-“

“Oh my _god”_

They immediately look over to Max, dropping their hands. El is still next to her, her hand over her mouth, trying to hide a laugh. Max’s face flushes before she responds with a quick “Just something in the magazine. It’s crazy”

  
  
  


With 15 minutes to _1987,_ Mike’s thoughts jump to something that hadn’t, until not even 30 minutes prior, vaguely crossed his mind: The New Years kiss- the initial plan for Mike, of course, being to find a reason not be be around when Will and Nick participated, and finding an acceptable excuse as to why himself and El couldn’t get involved in the tradition. 

_What if I just...did it?_

_No._

_But what if?_

_No. This, how we are, that’s enough. Friends who have admitted they like each other but are happy like this._

_But I really want to._

“Mike?” Will’s voice takes him out of his thoughts once again, “Everything alright?”

“Of course. All good.”

“Yep. Me too”

There’s one minute until the ball drops when Jonathan and Nancy finally join The Party in the living room. They both raise an eyebrow at the close proximity of Mike and Will, but otherwise don’t mention it.

_10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1_

The ball drops and the house erupts.

_HAPPY NEW YEAR!_

And Mike _doesn’t_ know what to do

It’s then he feels Will gently nudge his hand with his own, loosely interlacing their fingers.

He tightens their grasp.

_Do something. Anything. I know you can’t do the something something but do something_

He shifts, bringing Will’s head into his chest, resting his chin on top. Will relaxes into him.

“Happy New Year, Will”

“Happy New Year, Mike”

It’s El and Dustin bounding over towards them on the armchair that breaks them from the moment enveloping them both in a group hug

“Happy New Year you guys” Dustin’s voice, muffled within their hold

“Happy New Year!” Comes Lucas’ voice as he and Max join them in the huddle.  
  
“Here’s to no more Party drama in ‘87” Max toasts

They finally part, once again turning to face Jonathan and Nancy, wishing them a _Happy New Year too_ before Dustin _gently_ encourages them all to join him in singing _Auld Lang Syne._

It’s when they’re all sat around basking in the excitement of the New Year, listening to _The Jets_ play _Crush on You_ on TV _(_ And if Mike squeezes Will’s hand a little tighter, giving him a look as they do, no one comments) that Dustin speaks

“You know it’s funny” he starts “Mike, you started this year with El and now you’re with Will”  
  
“Well we’re not exact-”

“And you two” Dustin continues, ignoring Mike’s protest “I liked Max before you got together. We sure do keep it in The Party. El, how about a date sometime soon?” he waggles his eyebrows at her, in a joking manner  
  
“No.” El responds dryly, not taking her eyes of the TV  
  
“Dude thats my sister” Will protests  
  
“Well you didn’t have a problem with-”  
  
“Dustin” Mike interrupts “Shut up”

And the room erupts into collective laughter, a sound Mike thinks, that is better than anything they’d heard on TV.  
  


* * *

 **New Years Day, 1987. Benton, Illinois.**  
  
The first time Will wakes up on New Years Day it’s with a crick in his neck, making him very aware that he was not in his bed. He was in a rather awkward position and his head was not against the usual softness of his pillow. He opened his eyes slowly, only to see blue clouding his vision. Shifting slightly, he realises he’s led not against something, but someone. The events of the night before flashing through his mind. The blue he could see before is clearer now and he can see it belongs to a sweater. Mike’s sweater. The one he’d been wearing the night before.  
  
 _Oh my god I fell asleep on Mike._ _  
__  
__Oh._ _  
__  
__I fell_ asleep on _Mike._  
  
He feels his initial panic at the situation disappear as the moment sinks in. This wasn’t planned, sure, but he also didn’t feel like he had to pull away quite so fast. They’d _mutually_ decided that what they had now was _fine,_ but they’d been in each other's orbit ever since. So he allows himself to rest his head back against Mike’s chest and close his eyes again, just for a moment.  
  
He feels a rush of warmth settle over him as he does so, wrapping himself up in _Mike._ He’d thought for so long that all of this was so far out of his reach, something that had seemed so unlikely that he’d never allowed himself to focus on it for too long. He’d always taken comfort in being around Mike, everything else aside he was his best friend, but even when he’d gotten older and started realising and exploring elements of himself, he’d not pushed past those boundaries, so sure that Mike would reject all of them. The fact that he’s here, now, after they’d rung in the New Years with all of their friends, their family, and he had the full support of all of them, didn’t quite feel real. The fact that he was here with Mike, who had stood so sure, and told him multiple times over the last few days that he _felt the same_ was something Will was never going to take for granted. 

Mike moving slightly brings him out of his thoughts. He feels him stiffen slightly before asking in a groggy voice “Will?”  
  
“Yeah?” Will doesn’t open his eyes  
  
“Well this isn’t the camp bed”  
  
Will snorts “Great observation”  
  
“It’s just us” Mike states “Everyone else is gone”  
  
“They’re probably sleeping. Like I was. Now be quiet, I’m comfortable”  
  
“Yeah and my arm is asleep, too” Mike groans

Will, still not opening his eyes, reaches for Mike’s arm, pulling across him, Will hugging it into himself. 

“Shush,” he tells him. 

And they fall back into a comfortable silence.  
  


The second time Will wakes up on New Years Day, it’s to a pillow in the face and Dustin’s laughter.  
  
“Dude!” Lucas groans “I was in the middle of taking a picture for blackmail purposes”  
  
“Good morning to you, too, Lucas” Will hears from next to him, Mike shifting to a more upright position in the chair. His arm falls away from Will and he immediately misses the feeling. It’s only a moment later however that Mike takes his hand instead, interlocking their fingers.  
  
“Afternoon, actually” Dustin replies, watching the movement of their hands  
  
“Yeah” Lucas interrupts “We let you two lovebirds rest as long as possible, but the more you sleep, the more you cut into The Party’s Ultimate Games Night

“How can it be a _night_ if it starts in the _afternoon?_ ” Mike retorts, swinging his legs over the arm of the chair, hand still holding Will’s.

“Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the armchair” 

Will feels Mike tense, and gives his hand a comforting squeeze.

“Well he looked pretty comfortable to me” Dustin says, giving Lucas a look

“Did you see the way they were cuddling? We thought he was gross with El, but now we’ve got to deal with this”

“You don’t have to deal with _anything_ because we’re not-”

Both Dustin and Lucas roll their eyes

“Yeah, sure, you’re not together. You’re just friends. _Whatever_ ”  
  


It’s during Lucas and Dustin’s teasing - and Mike’s persistent eye rolling, that Max and El join the boys in the living room.  
  
“Oh good, you’re finally up” Max says as she sits on the couch, El joining her “We thought you’d be there all day”  
  
“Well that plan was thwarted by Dustin and the pillow he threw at my face” Will retorts “I was pretty content to stay here” He leans into Mike a little further “Mike is very comfortable”  
  
It’s Mike that squeezes his hand this time.  
  
“Dude, we have to share a bedroom with them tonight” Dustin says to Lucas, who mimes gagging.  
  
“We’re not-”  
  
The collective “Not together. We _know”_ echoes throughout the room. The Party give each other a series of knowing looks. Mike and Will suspiciously miss all of them.  
  
They’d started The Party’s Ultimate Game night (“ _Afternoon”- Mike had reminded Lucas again as he announced the start)_ with Monopoly, which in hindsight, turned out to be a mistake as it had resulted in Dustin throwing multiple hotels at Lucas’ head.

“What happened to no Party drama in 1987?” Max had asked  
  
“All resolutions are off the cards when it comes to Monopoly, Max” Dustin retorted

El had suggested that they’d settle down after the stress of their first game and play a few rounds of Hungry Hungry Hippos, which, Will admitted, had been kinda fun. He hadn’t played the game for a long time, and watching Mike and Max fight over trying to get the tiny plastic balls into their baskets would make him laugh for a long time.  
  
It’s when they played _Pictionary_ that the night (“ _afternoon”)_ became more interesting. They’d decided to have Lucas, Dustin and Mike on one team, with Max, Will and El on the other. 

“So that there’s no unfair advantages” Max had stated, looking directly at Mike

“Why only me?”

“Because _you would_ cheat _._ _He_ -” Pointing at Will “wouldn’t”

Will’s team, to his delight, was up two points before Dustin, excitedly exclaiming it was his turn, drew a card from the deck.

“Ok Mike, here’s one for you. You ready?” Dustin had said, pencil in hands. He begins sketching an armchair, two people, and a _bad_ drawing of two hands being held before Mike grabs a cushion from the couch, promptly throwing it at him 

“Come on man, you need to guess, how else are we going to get the point?”

“I am _not_ guessing”

“Wow, Dustin, didn’t realise Pictionary had a card with ‘ _Mike and Will’_ on it-” Lucas teased

“ _Stop. Now.”_

“I’m going to get another drink” Will tells the group, interrupting their bickering, he stands up, asking “Anyone want anything?”  
  
They all echo a distracted ‘ _no’_ (Dustin and Lucas still teasing Mike) and Will heads toward the kitchen, where he finds his mom sat at the table, cigarette in hand. She’d been trying to cut down, but he doesn’t comment as the stress of Hopper returning warranted some relief. 

“You and Mike seemed cosy this morning” she says, in lieu of a greeting, as he starts to pour himself another glass of coke. 

“Hm?” he says “Oh, yeah. We’re good” he tells her, not elaborating further

“Oh?” 

“Yeah, we made up.” Will replies. He knows he’s being evasive, and he also knows that because of his, not so _great,_ behaviour these last couple days she’s not going to let that slide.

There’s a slight pause as she processes what he’s said. He can see the wheels turning inside her head.

“Are you together now?” she finally asks, after receiving no information from Will himself

“Oh. No. We’re just-” he sighs “We’re just friends”

“And are you okay with that?” she frowns at the look on his face

  
He gives in

  
“Honestly? No” he tells her “But it’s a big change. He’s my best friend, mom. I can’t risk that”  
She reaches over to the closest chair to her and pulls it out from under the table, gesturing for him to sit down. He does so, nursing his glass of coke.

“It _is_ a big change” she agrees “But sometimes those changes are the best ones. I do understand your worries, though. That’s why it’s taken so long for me and-”

  
She stops

  
Will frowns

  
“You and _who?”_

 _  
_“Hop. Hopper. Me and Hopper”

“You’re dating _El’s dad?”_

“Yes. But it’s new, and he’s still recovering. I didn’t know if he’d remember or not, but we actually had set a date before he _‘died’_. I didn’t think it was worth mentioning when we thought he was gone, and then when Murray told me he thought he might be alive, I didn’t imagine he’d even remember that we’d talked about it”

“But he did?” Will smiles

Joyce smiles, too

“He did” she tells him “One of the first things he asked when I saw him was ‘Did I miss our date?’ I told him we’d have all the time in the world to reschedule”

“And you did”

“And we did” she smiles again

Will scrunches up his nose

“Does that mean I have to call him dad?”

Joyce laughs at him 

“No. It’s all so new. He’s not expecting you to do that and I’m not either. You can call him whatever you feel comfortable with, whenever you feel comfortable to do it”

Will nods at her

“I was worried El wasn’t going to be living with us anymore, but I guess this means she’s staying?”

“Of _course_ she is, honey” Joyce reassures him “She’s my daughter too, now”

Will gives her another smile and they sit silently for a while 

“You don’t have to be anything more than you already are with Mike” Joyce speaks after a little while, putting out her cigarette. She reaches over and squeezes Will’s hand “You don’t have to change anything, not if you don’t want to. But Will, if you like him, if you really really like him, and he likes you too, I think you can make this work. You’ve been friends for so long, you’ve been through so much that even if romantically you don’t work out, I don’t think that’s ever going to go away”

“I’m just so scared of losing him, mom” He confides, his voice small

“I know. And it’s okay to be. But I think if anyone can make this work, it’s you and Mike. I don’t know if you remember, but that time in ‘84, when _The Mindflayer_ took over, Mike was there with us when we were trying to get you back. The things he did, the way he spoke to you, Will he told you that asking you to be his friend was _the best thing he’s ever done._ He stayed with you for days just to make sure you were okay. Even if you get together, and break up, he’s not going to leave you”  
  


“Sorry I was just-”  
  


Will turns so fast in the chair that he almost knocks his coke over. Mike is stood in the kitchen entryway, face red.  
  
“I’d just come to see what was taking you so long”  
  
Joyce gives the boys a knowing look  
  
“I’ll give you two some privacy” 

“So.”

“So.”

“How much of that did you happen to hear?” Will asks sheepishly, unsure of what he actually wanted Mike to say

“How much did you want me to hear?” 

“Depends on what you have to say about it”

“You should have just said something”

“ _You_ should have said something”

“Well if _that_ hasn’t been the theme of the week”

They laugh for a moment, and then the atmosphere becomes serious once again.

“Mike. It’s just- I’ve spent my whole life being scared. Scared of who I was, scared of my feelings. My feelings for _you_ . I’ve spent so long hiding them that I didn’t know how to react when I realised I didn’t have to anymore”  
  
“When you say ‘ _so long’_ -”  
  
“I mean, I knew for sure in 8th grade, but it was probably under the surface for a little bit longer”  
  
“When you told me you had feelings for me too, I didn’t realise you’d had them for this long”  
  
“Well, you were pretty preoccupied” Will rolls his eyes playfully

“Shush. I caught up”

“I’m glad you did,” he says shyly. He takes a breath before continuing “So. Now that we’re all caught up. Where do we go from here?” 

“Your mom was right, if a relationship doesn’t work, I know we could still be friends somehow. But Will, we’ve tried whatever _this_ is for _a day_ and already, that’s not working out for me. And i’m pretty sure-well I know, it’s not working out for you either. If we keep this up, and eventually I have to see you with someone else, it’ll _kill_ me”

“I mean, I have been thinking about how I could avoid Jesse the next time I’m in Hawkins”  
  
“It was _never_ going to be Jesse. He doesn’t stand a chance next to you”  
  
“Mike-”

“It’s ok to be scared,” Mike reassures. He reaches over to Will, pulling him into his arms. Will looks up into Mike’s eyes. Mike rests his forehead against Will’s “But we can be scared together” 

“Yeah. Scared together”  
  


* * *

  
“What took you guys so long?” Lucas asks, looking up as Mike and Will re-enter the living room “Making out in the kitchen isn’t the most romantic of places”

“We-” Mike starts  
  
“We get it” Max sighs in exasperation “You’re _not together_ ”  
  
“Well, _actually-”_ Will says, nervously rubbing his neck _  
  
_

It takes The Party a moment to gather the gravity of Will’s words- the only person not phased was El, who was currently setting up another round of _pictionary_ , a knowing smile on her face and, for the first time, Will found he didn’t care that she knew how he was feeling. _  
_

_“_ No shit!”

“Oh thank _god”_  
  
“Sinclair, you owe me ten bucks!”  
  


“Wait. You _bet_ on us?” Mike asks, affronted  
  
“Well _someone_ had to make this emotional turmoil fun”  
  
“You mean to tell me you _didn’t_ enjoy the five rounds of _Hungry Hungry Hippos?”_ Will retorts, earning a glare from his sister

“We _did_ enjoy the light show in the living room though Will” El responds, Will’s face turning scarlet

“That was _you?_ ” Dustin asks, incredulous “I just thought your mom had some faulty wiring. Since when do you have powers?”

“I don’t _have_ powers, it’s more likely El-”

“Not to mention the creepy sibling emotional connection business” Mike adds unhelpfully

“It’s not _creepy_ ” El replies

“Hang on, why did no-one get us caught up on this before?” Lucas questions

“I dunno Lucas, maybe the fact that Will and I were in a crisis?”  
  
“Not anything new for you though, Mike. Besides wasn’t this whole thing only a _Code Yellow?”_

“Nice to know I’m only _Yellow_ status” Will nudges Mike playfully  
  
“No, mine and El’s break up was only a _Code Yellow._ Not my feelings for you _”_  
  
“Keep digging, Mike” Max chimes in, but the rest of The Party laugh with her.  
  
Surrounded by his friends laughter, Will feels _warm._ Mike’s presence next to him, and the grip on his hand grounds him to the moment and he feels a surge of unfamiliar happiness. He catches El’s eye and knows she feels it, too.  
  


He could get used to this.  
  
 ****

* * *

**January 2nd, 1987. Benton, Illinois**

The Party’s departure came too quickly on Friday. Joyce had put on a huge breakfast to see everyone off so they’d all spent the morning crammed into the Byers’ kitchen eating pancakes, waffles and pastries. Mike and Will (to the joking dismay of The Party) hadn’t let go of each other’s hand the whole time, and kept sharing inside jokes.  
Dustin had rolled his eyes ( _“here they are in their own little world again_ ”), but it had been in jest and everyone had gone quiet after Jonathan had asked them if they’d prefer it to go back to awkward silences and more ‘ _Will Duty’_ .

Nancy would be driving them back to Hawkins. Mike had asked if he could stay, ‘ _just a few more days, I’ll get the Greyhound back’_ and even though Will was dying to say yes, he’d gently reminded him of Hopper’s return and how he’d promised his mom everyone would be gone so he wasn’t overwhelmed. Mike had given in reluctantly, holding on to Will’s hand tighter and had complained for an hour about how far away the trip he’d already planned for spring break was.

“Why is it, Hopper isn’t even here and _still_ he’s coming between me and my relationship. Twice now. _Twice._ First with my girlfriend and now with my boyfriend _”_  
  
“Boyfriend, huh?” Will asked, raising his eyebrow  
  
“That’s what you are, isn’t it?”  
  
“Just making sure” Will shrugged, but his face flushes and he tightened his hold on Mike’s hand “It sounds good”  
  
“It sounds _right_ ”

They’d left it as long as possible before they had to leave, not just at Mike’s insistence but really, for the entire Party. The New Year celebrations had breezed by, admittedly due to the fact that the majority of the time had been spent playing mediator, but outside of this, they truly didn’t see Will and El as much as they would have liked. They took their bags to the car one by one, taking a little bit _too_ much time to Nancy’s annoyance ( _“I wanted to be on the road by now to avoid traffic_ ”) and they lingered around after leaving the house. Something had shifted over the New Year, not just the obvious, and this goodbye felt slightly more bittersweet than others.  
  
The moment was broken however when Lucas proclaimed  
  
“Mike can have shotgun! I don’t care about not having the extra legroom in Nancy’s car if it means I don’t have to sit by him whilst he cries over how much he misses Will already”

Mike flips him off from his position by the car. He reaches over Nancy’s side, grabbing a small black case from the glove box on his side, before making his way back to Will, who had just finished saying goodbye to Dustin.

“Here” Mike hands Will a cassette tape. He looks down at it curiously

“Mike, what’s this-”

“You asked me, a few days back, what was on it. It feels like forever ago now with _everything_ but I dunno. Maybe listen to it some time”

“Mike and Nancy’s _perfect_ road trip playlist?”

“Yeah, just peel the sticker off, there’s another underneath. I want you to have it, it was _for you_ after all”

Will flips over the cassette, looking at the track list

“ _‘I Want The One I Can’t Have’? ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over?’”_

“Look, don’t judge ok I was going through _a lot._ I’d just figured things out- sort of. It was very _driven by emotions”_

Will puts the cassette in his pocket before taking hand of Mike’s hands, intertwining their fingers

“No, I love it. Don’t think _Under Pressure_ counts as a _Bowie_ song though”

“He’s there, it counts”

“‘ _Heaven’_ ? _Really?”_

“I told you, _driven by emotions”_

They smile at one another, though it’s bittersweet. 

“I’ll call you when I get back? I know you’ve all got a big day tomorrow though”

“It’ll be fine, I don’t imagine we’ll all be getting much sleep anyway”

“I honestly still can’t believe I’m dealing with Hopper _again”_

“Weird habit to form there”

“He’s going to kill me. We had a good run, Byers.”

“I don’t think 12 hours counts as a run”

“I’ll save you the ‘ _Nana is sick’_ spiel and we’ll just break up now?”

“Without leaving me the chance to _dump your ass?_ No thanks”

Mike scoffs before sighing, taking a step closer to Will, resting his forehead against Will’s own “Don’t you ever do that, ok?” His voice low  
  
“I’m not planning on it” and with that Will leans up, giving Mike the smallest of kisses, so gentle Mike can barely feel it. He flushes, pulling away.  
  
“Mike, come _on!”_ Nancy calls from the car. Her and the rest of The Party had all buckled up whilst he and Will were talking  
  
“As soon as I get home, I promise. I miss you already” Mike says one last time, before turning and heading to the car.  
  
The Byers stand on their porch, waving and watching as Nancy’s car turns out of their street  
  
“Well” El says from beside him, smiling widely “Get ready for three calls a day”  
  
He rolls his eyes at her, but smiles just the same. He can feel a happiness coming from her which is contagious.

Then a thought hits.

He takes her hand in his own, leading her inside.

“Come on. I think we should start _actually_ working on our _creepy_ sibling emotional connection business. Don’t think mom and dad will appreciate any more burst lightbulbs”

“Lead the way, Will the Wise”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the support on this story. It really has meant to much, and we're being completely honest when we say this was completely unexpected (and we're finding it hard to comprehend that this started through text messages!)  
> You'll see, there is still one more chapter to go, so thanks for sticking with us, and we'll see you in the next one 
> 
> \- [~~Mike and Nancy's 'Perfect' Roadtrip Playlist~~ For Will](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0P6qDw3D7nF0iirhv3maia?si=M7d9iSCZQHyPXlUgy314Jw)  
> Chat to us on tumblr at [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


	13. Epilogue: I never wanted anyone like this, It's all brand new

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your boyfriiiiiiiiend, Will” Lucas jokes again, but there’s a smile on his face that Mike knows is one of fondness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are.  
> First of all, we'd like to thank everyone who's read this and given us so much love on the story throughout. We truly didn't expect it (or for people to love Nick but that's beside the point) We'll have a few more notes at the bottom that you may just want to read about this going forward...just saying.
> 
> We hope you enjoy the, rather long, epilogue. It's nice, it's fluffy and it's what we deserve.
> 
> You can find the general playlist for the fic [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QY5tplzQ6trpTInngPWG3?si=OrvamtqlTLOFIEAq6qTHzw)
> 
> \- [Will's Mixtape](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/15hvV7sn9hCFpnusL8u6pI?si=1YHK49MbQdmsr9QLpgpeww)  
> \- [For Will/Mike and Nancy's 'Perfect' Roadtrip Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0P6qDw3D7nF0iirhv3maia?si=M7d9iSCZQHyPXlUgy314Jw)

**January 2nd 1987, Hawkins, Indiana**

“Happy New Year Mike! How was Benton?” Karen asks as Mike throws open the front door, ditching his bag down in the walkway. It was around 5pm when the Wheelers, and the rest of The Party, arrived back in Hawkins. It seemed colder in Indiana, though Mike wasn’t sure if it was the weather or the change in atmosphere after leaving Illinois. 

“Yeah great, talk later” he runs down into the basement ignoring his mom shouting ‘ _Michael!’_ as he slams the door shut. He can hear his Mom talking to Nancy upstairs, and though he can’t pick out every word he hears something along the lines of _“was it awkward with Jane?”_

“No, I think Mike happened to have a _great_ time” he can just about hear Nancy reply. He rolls his eyes at her response before picking up the receiver and dialing a familiar number.

“Byers Residence”

“Can I speak to El please?”

“...I’m hanging up”

“I’m kidding” a beat “I miss you, already”

“Come back then?”

“Wow Will, not saying it back? You _wound_ me”

“What did you want me to say? That I cried the second you left-”

“He did” El’s voice sounds clear as Will’s tails off

“El give it _back”_ Mike hears the siblings fighting over the phone, a muffled noise ringing out from the speakers

"I’m putting the phone down.” Mike says bluntly 

It’s after picking up a ‘ _ha!’ and a ‘go away El’_ Will finally responds “I do too. Miss you already I mean.”

“See, was that so bad?”

“Don’t make me take it back.” 

Mike laughs

“You wouldn’t. How are you all doing? Aside from missing me you know”

He hears Will chuckle slightly, and Mike thinks it might be one of the most wonderful sounds he’s heard

_Wow, Mike. We’re really at that point, huh?_

“We’re not too bad. Mom’s gone to Sesser now to spend the night with Hop- get him ready for tomorrow. So, a quiet, _uneventful_ night in with Jonathan”

He hears Will lower his voice “The lights are going a little crazy.”

“Is she ok?”  
  
“Yeah, just restless. She can’t wait to see him” Will reassures before adding “We’ve decided to work on it by the way. The _creepy_ _sibling business,_ I mean. Figured it might come in handy to know what to do with it” 

“When did you decide that?”

“Pretty much as soon as you drove away?”

“No point in wasting anytime I guess, especially with the _light show in the kitchen_ yesterday” Mike teases slightly. He hears Will snort and feels his face flush. 

“But seriously Will, how do you feel about that? Honestly.”

He hears Will sigh through the phone “I tried to ignore it for so long because of, _you know._ But I think I’m getting there with accepting it. I _was_ the one that suggested we work on it after all. I think we can make it a good thing. You also never know if…”

What Will means doesn’t need to be elaborated.

“Well, I’m proud of you, Byers” Mike tells him “Real proud”

“Thanks” Will pauses “I do miss you by the way. I wish you were still here”

Mike feels _warm._

“I do too. I’ve been thinking. Maybe you could get Jonathan to drive you up for the weekend sometime soon. Don’t know how i’ll cope until Spring Break”

“If it means he gets to see Nancy, I’m sure he’ll be down for it”  
  
“Real soon, though. Ok?”

“Yeah. Real soon”

He’s about to reply before he hears his mom scream _‘Michael!’,_ before she opens the basement door, standing at the top of the stairs, arms crossed.

“Talk to you tomorrow?” Mike asks quickly, not looking up at his mom.  
  
“Tomorrow” Will confirms and with one last _‘goodbye’_ , they hang up. **  
****  
**

“ _What_ mom?” 

“I hope this isn’t a repeat of your behaviour at Christmas. What was so important that you ignored me in favor of the phone?”  
  
“Nothing” he mutters, heading toward the staircase “Sorry. We had a great New Year. How was yours?”  
 **  
**He meets his mom at the top of the stairs, closing the basement door behind them.

_It’s not nothing,_

_I love him._

* * *

  
  


**January 23rd 1987. Hawkins, Indiana.**

It’s cold at the end of January- it had been snowing all morning and The Party had found themselves in the basement, huddling blankets and pestering Mike to let them use the hot water bottle he’d been hugging, and regularly topping up, since their arrival. 

“I did tell you it was cold” _Not my fault if you chose not to listen_

“You didn’t say I’d be _dying_ down here. Give it.” Dustin pleaded reaching over to grab the bottle from Mike who in return was fending him off with his feet, bottle still in arms.

“Yeah surely you’ll have another way to warm up-” Lucas adds, wrapping his own blanket around his shoulders

“Don’t even finish what you’re saying. _”_ Mike interrupts, glaring at him. Lucas laughs at his expression.

Will, and Jonathan, were due to arrive within the next hour- Mike trying his hardest to plan it so that he was unlikely to come into contact with any members of the Wheeler family- baring Nancy of course. He knew really, that it would probably be fine if they were around for the arrival- after all, Will had been a staple within the household for near enough 11 years, but it took away the risk of any interaction being taken in a less than desirable way, according to his parents. Mike was more than happy with their development. 

_We’re not dealing with that yet. Not now._ _I just want it to be me, and Will...and everyone I guess. Mom, we’re not thinking about her reaction yet. Dad, we’re not thinking about his reaction ever._

But until then, they’d put on a film, ( _“Not ‘Pretty In Pink’. Anything but ‘Pretty In Pink’”- Dustin had begged before Mike rolled his eyes, putting the VHS for ‘Back To The Future’ into the player, eliciting yet another groan from Dustin as Lucas begins his point about how time travel works in the film universe)_ and were waiting for Will, and Jonathan’s, arrival. 

“Well it’s true though isn’t it?” Lucas continues on 

“ _Lucas”_

“ ‘ _Oh Will, are you cold? Don’t worry I’ll keep you nice and toasty, you’ll be safe with me.’ ”_ He teases 

“Dibs on the hot water bottle that Mike is definitely going to forget all about the second Will arrives” Dustin adds

And in that moment, Mike gives himself away. He glances down, guiltily looking at the hot water bottle. Max catches the movement. _Of course it’s Max. Who else would it be?_

“Is that why you’ve been hogging it this whole time?” she demands “You’re saving it for Will!”

“ _No!-_ yes. He gets cold!” Mike defends “He has done ever since the mindflayer. I’m just trying to be a thoughtful boyfriend” 

The Party exchange a look amongst themselves, and Mike knows what’s coming.

“ ‘ _Oh Will, aren’t I just the BEST boyfriend. Huddle with me, share my blanket, share my hot water bottle’ ”_

“ _Lucas!”_

“Guys, guys, guys! He _said_ it. He actually _said_ it” Dustin exclaims, turning, whilst wrapped in his blanket, to face Mike on the couch “We’re proud of you man” he finishes, his tone serious this time  
  
“What are you talking about?” Mike asks, frowning at the group  
  
“That’s the first time we’ve heard you call Will your boyfriend” Lucas tells him “We’ve been wondering when you were going to do it”

“I’m surprised it took you this long, considering the events of the last few months” Max adds, taking a sip of her hot chocolate which had been cooling rapidly since being in the basement.

“I don’t know,” Mike shrugs. “I always refer to him as my boyfriend in my head, and I do to Will as well. I just haven’t had the chance to say it to you guys. It’s Will, you know? He’s still Will, our friend Will”

“Your _boyfriiiiiiiiend,_ Will” Lucas jokes again, but there’s a smile on his face that Mike knows is one of fondness

“Come on, we’re missing the movie” Mike diverting the attention back to Marty Mcfly and away from him

“You know Mike, _Will_ has a jacket like Marty’s”

“Shut _up_ , Lucas”  
  


They continue to watch the movie in a comfortable silence after that. With only an occasional throwaway comment from one of them interrupting their quiet, Mike can easily drown out any remarks about Will from Lucas and Dustin. It’s when the movie ends that Max makes a not so subtle suggestion that she and the boys get ready to brace the cold and leave the Wheeler’s. When the boys stand to join her, Mike frowns  
  
“Wait, you’re going home?”  
  
“Will is going to be here soon, and we do want to give you alone time. I know it’s hard not knowing when you’ll see him again”  
  
“Sit back down” Mike tells them “It’s _fine_ . I want you to stay, _Will_ would want you to stay”  
  
The rest of The Party is quiet a moment, all ruminating over Mike’s words. 

“Are you sure _you_ want us here?” Max sighs

“What? Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Mike’s frown becomes more pronounced 

“Well, it’s just that it’s Will you know?”

“Yeah exactly, it’s _Will._ He’s your friend just as much as mine”

The Party share a look

“Yeah but it’s different isn’t it? It’s not just you guys now. It’s _you guys”_ Dustin waggles his eyebrows at Mike

_Oh. It is, isn’t it?_

Despite the meticulous planning regarding his parents, he hasn’t actually factored in the idea that The Party were possibly a problem. After all, why wouldn’t they be there? It was Will. They’d want to see Will.

_Did Will want them? Was he expecting just me? Should they-_

“Wow, congrats Dustin, you’ve sent him into a spiral again and we all know what happened last time” Max breaks him out of the thoughts 

“Wasn’t it you that sent me into the other ones?”

“Well, if we want to get on technical terms I believe that was _actually_ Will and The Palace Arcade-”

“Look, i’m fine, no _crisis._ Do you guys not want to be here?”

“Of course we want to be here man. We want to see Will. We just thought you’d want to see him more” Lucas shrugs “It’s just, you know, different now” 

“It wasn’t different with El”

Lucas raises an eyebrow at him

“Ok, maybe not the best example but we were _together_ and you all were fine with that- well Will wasn’t fine but I think that’s pretty self explanatory- so unless anyone else has anything to confess, I think we’re fine”

“Well…” Dustin starts with a teasing tone before Mike whips the blanket off of his, leaving Dustin to scramble, pulling it back onto himself. Mike sighs, continuing the conversation. 

“He’s here for the weekend, _we’ve_ got the whole weekend. Just stay.”

It’s then that the doorbell rings, The Party turning to face the basement door. It’s Mike that moves first, taking the stairs two at a time, disregarding both the cold temperature on his ascent, and a comment from Max along the lines of _“Oh yeah, it’s not different at all”._ He hears their footsteps following him up the stairs, albeit at a slower pace.

  
He opens the door, The Party now behind him

And there’s Will.

And Jonathan.

“Hey man” Mike greets, _completely_ casually, leaning against the door frame. _Casually._

Max snorts.

“Hi?” Will replies. He catches sight of The Party standing behind Mike, as if waiting for something “Hey guys?”  
  
“Hi Will” they all echo, and Mike feels their gaze shift back to him.

“Have I missed something?”

“Apart from freezing in the basement because _someone_ ” Dustin looks pointedly at Mike “Decided to hog the hot water bottle”

“Yeah he was saving it for-”

“ _Lucas”_ Mike warns before turning his attention back to Will, “For you. I was saving it for you. If you wanted it. I know you get cold sometimes. Totally fine if you don’t need it. I did warn Dustin and Lucas that it was cold and they didn’t listen so-”

It’s then that Will takes Mike’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

_Yep. Still casual_

“Thank you” Will says softly, and Mike feels his face flush. Mike interlocks their fingers, squeezing back.

There’s a small cough from behind Will, breaking the moment. Jonathan rolls his eyes “Hi Mike” he says, pushing past the two presumably in search of Nancy. It’s then that Will steps inside after his brother, closing the door behind him.

“So,” He begins a grin on his face “Me and El have been working through some stuff. Wanna see?”

“Dude do you have superpowers now?!” Dustin asks excitedly  
  
“Don’t get your hopes up too much” Will admits “This is the first time we’ve tried it this long distance, so it might not work. We tried it when me and Jonathan were halfway here, and it just about reached”  
  
“Basement?” Mike suggests

“Sure” Will shrugs “I’d rather break something of yours, than break something of your mom’s”  
  
“Things are going to _break?_ ”  
  
“Possibly” Will laughs “Just move anything you wanna keep”  
  
  


* * *

“Ok,” Will steadies himself, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper, which he gives to Mike, and a blindfold that he keeps for himself. He sits opposite The Party, having suggested they stay back a little, out of precaution.

“Will? What is this?” Mike unfolds it, sitting in the centre of the group, the rest crowding around him to look at what Will had just given him. 

Will smiles, before putting on his blindfold.

“El? You there?” He speaks into the void. Mike’s eyes widen.

_This is really going to freak them out_ , El’s voice rings throughout his head. _I wish I could see it._ _  
__  
__Should’ve come with us, then_ Will thinks back  
  
 _You know I didn’t want to leave dad._ _  
__  
_

The lights in the room start to flicker

> .. .----. -- / .... . .-. . **(I’m Here)**

“Holy _shit”_ Dustin blurts out

> .... .. / -.. ..- ... - .. -. **(Hi Dustin)**

“El? Is that really you? How-” Mike trails off

>   
> -.-. .-. . . .--. -.-- / ... .. -... .-.. .. -. --. / -... --- -. -.. **(Creepy sibling bond)**

“Why did you have to leave me with these stupid boys all weekend?” Max jests (and Will can hear Mike make a snappy remark in response)

> \-- -.-- / -.. .- -.. **(My dad)**  
>   
> 

“Wait, what did she say?” Lucas asks “It faded off at the end”  
  
“ _‘My dad’_ ” Will tells them, wiping at the small trickle of blood coming from his nose. He takes off the blindfold, sighing out of frustration

_Still not strong enough_

“She stayed home because of dad”  
  
“Can she still hear us?”  
  
“No” Will shakes his head “I’ve lost the connection”  
  
“Can you do that?” Dustin asks “With the lights?” 

Will takes a breath before closing his eyes

> -. --- - / ..-. --- .-. / .-.. --- -. --. **(Not for long)**

“Dude, that is _so_ cool”  
  
“I know, right?” Will opens his eyes, grinning “We’ve been practicing. A lot. Her powers haven’t come back fully but this is definitely helping. It’s getting stronger for me too”

“What does that mean though?” He hears Mike ask, concern evident in his voice “Do you think-”

“I’m not sure. We’re taking it easy just in case. But I don’t think I’ve felt _him._ It’s got to be connected in some way but- i’m not sure.”

“Be careful yeah? I’m not saying it’s not really cool, just be careful. _Both of you”_

The Party all nod in agreement. 

“We will” Will reassures him “Now, where’s that hot water bottle? I can’t feel my fingers”

* * *

Dustin, Lucas and Max leave the Wheeler’s house around 6pm. They’d managed to fit in another movie _(“Jesus Mike do you own any good movies? ‘The Best of Times’? Robin Williams is the only good thing about this” Dustin had groaned)_ and Will and Mike had ignored plenty of suggestive comments about their seating arrangements (Will had rested his feet in Mike’s lap, hugging the hot water bottle close to his chest). It’s when the door closes behind The Party that evening, however, that Mike turns to look at him, a look in his eye which Will hadn’t seen the rest of the day.

  
“Hi” He says, his voice soft. He takes Will’s hand in his own, interlocking their fingers and leading him up the stairs and to his bedroom. 

“Hi” Will says back, as they walk, his voice mirroring Mike’s.   
  
Mike opens the door to his bedroom, gesturing for Will to sit on the bed. He walks to his boombox, picking up a cassette and putting in the player. He presses play and makes his way to join Will, the soft sound of The Smiths starting to echo around the room. Mike settles against his headboard.  
  
“I’d have thought since we got together, you’d have stopped listen to this misery”  
  
“Shut up, need I remind you, _you_ recommended this _misery_ to me?” Mike says, nudging him with his foot. Will isn’t sure who moves first, but suddenly Mike has his arms around him, pulling him into him.

“Hi” Mike says again “I missed you”  
  
“I missed you too” he replies, setting further into Mike’s chest.  
  
They stay here for a while, basking in the music and each other’s company. It had been about 20 minutes of comfortable smalltalk when there is a knock at Mike’s bedroom door.  
  


“Mike, you in here?”

And suddenly Will finds himself off-balance. He catches himself, sitting up, back against the wall. Mike had scrambled, now sitting arms and legs crossing up against the headboard.

“Yeah, come in” There’s a shakiness in his voice but Will understands

Karen waltzes in, Holly trailing behind her. She sees Will, grins, and gives him a small wave, which he returns with a smile. 

“Will honey, how was the trip?” Karen asks, “Mike’s been very excited that you’re coming to visit so soon after New Year” He hears Mike mutter a simple _mom_ under his breath.

“It was good” Will says “We managed to miss the traffic”

“Glad it wasn’t too stressful for you all. Speaking of, where’s Jane? I thought she’d be up here with you”  
  
“She stayed home” Mike tells her, a change in his tone. It wasn’t noticeable to anyone but Will, who knew Mike better than anyone.

Karen frowns “I thought you two were on good terms?”  
  
“We are” Mike says quickly “She just-”  
  
“Wanted to stay home with mom” Will interrupts “Something about girl time”

Karen tilts her head, shooting Mike a look, Will noticing that he begins playing with his hands.

“Well. Ok, then.” It’s a questioning tone, she’s still looking at Mike. After a beat, she exhales, before turning back to Will. 

“Will you be ok in here Will? I know Mike doesn’t have the bunk beds anymore but you can always share or we can get out the air mattress for the floor?

“The floor is fine” Will says quickly “Thank you” _Calm. Down._

Karen gives _him_ a look this time  
  
“Okay” she says slowly “I’ll leave you boys to it. Come on Holly, let’s get started on some dinner”

The door closes behind them and a silence settles around the room. It’s unlike before, a slight addition of awkwardness to the room. Will knows that Mike is processing, and that the thought of telling his parents about his newfound sexuality and their relationship has probably not even fully crossed his mind yet. Will knows he really lucked out with his family and how accepting they’d been but he knew that wasn’t always the case for everyone. He doesn’t want Mike to feel uncomfortable, though. He wants to constantly remind him that it’s ok, he’s ok, _they’re ok._

“So” he says, moving back into Mike’s arms. He’s relieved when Mike lets him “I listened to the mixtape you gave me”  
  


* * *

**January 24th, 1987. Hawkins, Indiana.**

  
“ _Will_. Stop snoring and get up.”

_That’s always the first thing a guy wants to hear in the morning,_ Will thinks, being awoken by a very excitable Mike, knelt next to him.

“It’s early” he mutters in reply, keeping his eyes closed and pulling his blanket up to his chin

“Come _on_ Will. I have the whole day planned for us”  
  
Will groans 

“Mike, I lived here for the first 14 years of my life, I know what there is to do around here” Will retorts, pulling his blanket further over his head  
  
“Yeah but not like _this”_ Mike says, the tone of his voice causing Will to peak his head out from the blanket  
  
“Not like what?” He asks, raising his eyebrow  
  
“I planned a day for us.” Mike tells him, playing with his hands again the way he had the night before “Thought we could do a few things today. Make up for lost time” he shrugs  
  
“Oh” Will replies, his face flushing. A warm feeling settles in his chest, and he finds himself smiling up at his boyfriend. They’d not even been together a month yet, but he found that already he loved the way _Mike the boyfriend,_ differed from _Mike the friend._  
  
“We don’t have to” he starts “I mean- it’s stupid-”  
  


_Oh. Oh no._

He realises that Mike has mistaken his silence for hesitance 

“Mike” Will interrupts, untangling his arms from the blanket. He holds out his hand to Mike who takes it hesitantly. Entangling their fingers, Will turns to face him, smiling “I’d _love_ to”  
  
The smile Mike gives him in return is blinding  
  
Their first stop on their day is the 12:30 showing of _The Stepfather_ at _The Hawk._ Starcourt was still being rebuilt after it’s reputation flattened as much as the actual building itself. The Hawkins town council’s reputation still hadn’t fully recovered from knowingly allowing Russian military into the town to do God knows what. Will found that he was glad they didn’t have to go to the mall, and they could stick to places that held only _good_ memories. 

They’d decided to walk in town to Mike’s displeasure 

“I don’t have my bike” Will told him, watching as Mike unlocked the garage to get his own 

“Just ride on the back of mine” Mike shrugs 

“We’re not kids anymore, Mike” Will retorts, grinning, and earning an eye roll in return. “Besides, have you seen the roads? It’s not exactly biking weather, are you trying to kill me?”

  
  


As Mike had woken him up ridiculously early, they had more than enough time to make the movie after leaving the house. It was still very cold but it had stopped snowing overnight and it was a relatively dry day. Mike had filled the hot water bottle up one more time before they left the house, silently handing it to Will as they walked. Will held the bottle with one hand, hugging it to his chest, and the other hand hung limply beside him, brushing occasionally against Mike’s.

He found that being back in Hawkins was hard for reasons he hadn’t thought when planning the trip. Whilst people could still be discriminatory in Illinois, and he and Nick had had to be careful with the PDA, it was a more progressive state and it wasn’t something Will _always_ had to worry about. Being gay was now legal in Indiana, but the people there were not tolerant and he found himself very disheartened by the fact that he knew he probably wouldn’t be able to hold Mike’s hand at all if they were in public, even if it was at night, or in a quiet street.  
  


“So,” Mike begins, dragging out the vowels “How’s the weather up there?” 

“Up there?”

“You know, in Benton. In Illinois”

“It’s not Canada Mike. It’s the next state up”

“Still up” Mike shrugs

“Well I’m here Mike. I don’t know”

“Oh, right yeah.”

It’s that moment that Will realised he was on a date with Mike and the line had been very truly crossed. It wasn’t that he didn’t know it had been- after the events of new year and the night before, Will could say with certainty that they were _most definitely_ together.

But being here, with Mike, walking through Hawkins, _alone._

It hit him.

“We’re on a-” Will looks round, before lowering his voice “a date”

“Yeah?”

“It’s us. We’re on a _date”_

“Do you not want to be?” Mike stops walking, turning to face Will “Because if you don’t, I’d rather you tell me now-”

Will reaches for Mike’s hands, before stopping himself, resting them on Mike’s shoulders instead. He gives them a squeeze.  
  
“No, _no_ I do. _Definitely_ do. Are you forgetting the events of Christmas?” 

Mike snorts

“It’s just this is actually happening. We’re on a _date”_ Will smiles at him, the more he says it, the better it sounds  
  
Mike grins back  
  
“I know”  
  


* * *

  
  
In the darkness of the movie theatre, Will is able to hold Mike’s hand for the whole film. Mike had insisted he pay for their tickets and snacks, and they found once inside they had the whole back row to themselves. For a weekend, _The Hawk_ was surprisingly quiet, and there were not many other people watching the same movie as them. Will had managed to relax a little, knowing that no one could see them had calmed his nerves and the soothing circles Mike was drawing on his hand with his thumb was helping too. He allowed himself to lean into the touch, taking comfort in _Mike_ . Their soft touches had lingered as the movie ended, Will chasing Mike’s hand as they had to reluctantly let go the closer they got to the bottom of the stairs. Will is still loosely holding on to Mike’s fingertips when they hear  
  


“Mr. Wheeler?”

The boys jump apart instantly. Turning their heads, they see Mr. Clarke standing up out of his seat, in one of the rows closer to the screen. They watch as his gaze follows their hands. He gives them a knowing smile.

“And Will!” He adds, once they’ve turned to face him “How are you boys?”

“Mr. Clarke! We were just-” Mike splutters

“Eager to see _The Stepfather_ too, huh? I wanted to come along yesterday but with the weather we had”

“Yeah, yeah _totally._ Will got in yesterday. He doesn’t know what the weather is like in Illinois” Will looks over to Mike, to see him cringe at his words. Mr. Clarke shoots them a confused look.

“Right. Are you visiting for long?”  
  
“Just the weekend. I came for Mi- to _visit_ Mike. ” _Oh. Oh no._

“And the rest of The Party I presume?” He adds “How are Lucas, Dustin and Max?. I miss having you guys in my class”

“Yeah. Totally” Will adds “They’re good. I saw them yesterday” 

“And how _is_ Illinois?”  
  
“Good. Mom likes it” Will shrugs. _Much better now Hopper is back._

Mr. Clarke smiles at them both “Well, I’ll leave you to the rest of your day. It was good to see you together” 

They give him their goodbyes, continuing their now - very distant - walk out of the movie theatre. It’s not until they’re walking past Enzo’s that Mike speaks

  
“When he said it was good to see us together. You don’t think he meant-”

“Mr. Clarke’s always had a way of knowing what’s going on around here” Will shrugs, then smirks at Mike “Besides, the way you kept holding on to my hand did make it fairly obvious”

  
Mike playfully nudges him, smiling back. 

The rest of the day - and Will’s trip- goes relatively smoothly. They don’t bump into any other familiar faces, but Will does find it weird walking past the police station, and seeing someone else as Police Chief. He almost wants to go in there and scream _he’s alive_ but he knows that’s something the town of Hawkins can never know. Aside from the surreality of being back, something that he hadn’t felt the first few times - they hadn’t spent this much time in town then and Hop hadn’t been alive - he loves being back with Mike, and hates that they’ll have to return to nightly phone calls once he gets home. 

Lucas, Max and Dustin come to see him off on the morning before he leaves.  
  
“We thought we’d see you one more time before the summer” Dustin says, giving Will a hug  
  
“Yeah, seeing as Mike gets you all to himself at Spring Break” Lucas adds  
  
“Oh, as if we’d want to be there for a whole two weeks just watching them make out” Dustin retorts as he pulls away from Will  
  
“That’s not-we’re not-I don’t-” Mike splutters  
  
“Relax, Wheeler” Max rolls her eyes before her expression changes to one that Will can only describe as a soft frown before Mike makes a point of turning himself away from her.

_What was that?_

It’s when they’re in the car on the way back that Will thinks over Dustin’s words and Mike’s reaction to them. He’d known that the lack of PDA made sense, he’d understood why, but it’s when he’s about halfway back to Benton that he realises that even in the privacy of Mike’s room, when they were home alone, or everyone else was long asleep, Mike hadn’t kissed him once. 

* * *

**March 9th, 1987, Benton, Illinois.**

  
It’s when Mike is visiting Benton for Spring Break that Will finally brings it up. Mike had been in town for a few days at this point, and the boys had spent every day together, and had been on plenty of dates since he’d arrived. Mike knew that he was being a little distant, however, when it came to certain _aspects_ of their relationship, and he knew Will was starting to notice. He didn’t know how to bring it up without sounding like an idiot, so he’d deflected for as long as possible. Will, however, had clearly had enough. 

“Why don’t you want to kiss me?” Will asks on the afternoon of Mike’s third day in Benton. They were sat on his bed, listening to the _For Will_ mixtape and reading.  
  
“What? Will, we’ve kissed.” Mike frowns, hoping that deflecting would continue to serve him well, just for a moment.

“Mike, that was definitely me who kissed you, and it barely even counts” Will sighs “Am I doing something wrong-”

“No, No” Mike vehemently reassures him “You’re not doing anything wrong”  
  
“If you don’t want to kiss me, or you’d prefer we didn’t do that, that’s fine. But please talk to me so I know where we stand with it, I don’t want to do anything to upset you”  
  


Mike cannot stand the look on Will’s face any longer, and he uses this moment to scoot over to Will’s spot on the mattress, taking him into his arms. Will goes willingly, melting into the touch as hands wrap around his middle. Mike rests his chin on top of Will’s head. Mike feels _warm_ , a way he felt often whenever he had Will in his arms. It was a feeling he knew he’d never grow tired of.  
  


“It’s not that I _don’t_ want to kiss you” Mike says reluctantly “It’s just-” he sighs “You’ve done this with Nick, and I’ve never done this before, and I don’t want to do it wrong”  
  
“Mike” Will sounds exasperated “Do I have to remind you of all the times I’ve witnessed you and El making out or-”  
  
“I mean-” Mike interrupts “I’ve never done this with a guy before” his voice is quieter this time, as if he’s worried about voicing the concern  
  
Will turns around in his arms, so the boys are face to face. He shifts so his knees are either side of Mike’s legs, and it makes him slightly taller than Mike for once. He rests his forehead against his boyfriend, a smile on his face  
  
“You’re an idiot” he laughs “Not that I’ve ever kissed a girl, but I think it probably works the same way”  
  


Mike notices Will’s eyes shift down to his lips  
  


“Wanna try?” he asks, a smirk on his face  
  


“Since when did you get so forward, Byers?” Mike retorts, but shifts his gaze, too.  
  
They move at the same time, Will leaning down and Mike reaching up so they can meet. The first kiss is gentle, more of a peck, but then there’s a second, and a third and a fourth, until it’s not just soft kisses anymore.

They become so preoccupied, that they don’t hear the approaching footsteps, or Will’s door being opened. It’s only when a voice interrupts them that the boys break apart.  
  


“What” Hopper gets out between gritted teeth “the _hell_ is going on here?”

 **  
**Now, it wasn’t that the rest of the Byers had intentionally avoided telling Hop of El and Mike’s _very_ permanent breakup and the _slight_ adjustment that Mike was now very much dating Will instead, it’s just that with his return, helping him acclimatise to the world again took precedent and the situation just never explicitly made its way into conversation.

So, Mike guesses, he can kind of understand the look on Hopper’s face right now. 

Later, Mike would laugh, remembering his confusion when a few days prior, during his first morning at the Byers’ house for Spring Break and he had made his way into El’s room to say hi, Hop had reminded him _“Door open three inches”._ At the time, Mike had thought he was making a joke, but hindsight told a different story.

Right now, however, Mike Wheeler was simply _terrified_. He’d already had the shovel talk from Hopper once, and he didn’t think he could suffer through that again, especially if the growing redness on Hop’s face was any indication of his anger. 

The boys broke apart, mostly because the awkwardness of having your parents walk in on you kissing was never a fun time. Unfortunately Mike has a lot of experience in that area. The motion of breaking apart, makes the boys unsteady and Will falls from his position in Mike’s lap. He straightens himself up, before looking in the furious eyes of his dad.

It was fairly obvious what was going on though Mike thought, although he knew better than to voice it. 

“We were kissing?” Will, who had clearly never dealt with Police Chief Jim Hopper catching you making out, didn’t have the same reservations.

“How _dare_ you” Hopper seethes “your mother did you not raise you to be this way” he spits, directing his fury at Will

“Hey!” Mike feels a rush of anger flow through him, an overwhelming need to defend Will “Don’t talk to him like that you piece of shit” 

Hopper turns to him, his face the color of a beetroot 

“Oh I’m the piece of _shit_ ? Ha! Don’t make me laugh” he turns back to Will “Did Wheeler talk you into this?”  
  
“What? No, of course not!” Will replies, insulted at the accusation “This hasn’t come out of nowhere, if anything Mike was the one who needed to catch up. Just ask Mom, she’s known about me since October” he then gestures between the two of them “and this since-”

“ _Joyce_ knows about this?!” 

“Why wouldn’t she? Do you think we’d be here if she didn’t?!” 

“Because it’s _wrong,_ Will” Hop explodes “It’s absolutely disgusting-” Mike watches as Hopper’s words sink in, Will’s worst fears confirmed as they do. His boyfriend quickly blinks back the tears that had pooled in his eyes and Mike feels his anger rise even more. He turns back to Hop as he finishes his rant, face red and full of fury.  
  


“- how could you do this to your sister?!” 

“Wait. _What?”_

The boys look at each other confused as to what Hopper is getting at with this. He and El were cool, in fact, she’d been one of the first people who’d tried to push them together. She was happy, exploring her life without _‘stupid boys’_ and Mike was the happiest he’d been in a long time. He thought that Hopper was angry at Will because Mike was another guy, but why would that mean he was so worried about El? It’s not like they were having an affair-

Oh. _OH._

“El and Mike broke up” Will blurts out quickly, trying to defuse the tension that had built “In December. They broke up early December. Mike and I got together at New Years”

Mike watches as Will's words register over Hopper’s face, flicking through emotion after emotion before settling on one of pure exasperation. He rubs his hand over his eyes, before pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing.  
  
 _“Oh Jesus”_ he lets out “That’s pretty fast, kid” sighing again, he asks “Is El okay?”  
  
Mike does understand - and even appreciates - the concern. El was Hop’s daughter long before the Byers had become this weird but wonderful little family, and the last he knew El and Mike were very much a _thing._ If Mike had learnt anything these last few years, it was that Hopper put his family first, and El was his main priority always.  
  
Mike replies this time, taking some of the heavy conversation from Will “She’s good. We all are, now. She realised my feelings before I did. Trust me when I say we’ve all had _way_ too many long conversations about this whole situation. You can ask everyone if you don’t believe me” His voice shows less anger this time, but there is a certainty to it which both Will and Hopper can sense.  
  
“Mike -” Hop starts, but before he can finish, he’s interrupted  
  
“I love him, okay?” Mike blurts out “And I don’t care what you have to say about it, because it’s not going to work. This is _it_ this time, Hopper. I’m not messing around. I _really_ love him”

Hopper doesn’t reply, instead making his way to Will’s desk chair, picking up a cushion with a rainbow print across it, shaking his head but smiling at the design. It had been something Nick had gifted Will, and he had been reluctant to use it, but as Mike had begrudgingly reminded him _‘We do owe him. I guess’._ Hop fluffs up the pillow before setting it back down, and sitting himself on top of it. He is too big for the chair, and looks very out of place. He’s silent for a moment, clearly thinking and running through everything that he had just been told. 

After a moment, Hopper turns back to Will “Are you happy, son?”  
  
Will nods, a smile forming across his face  
  
“With _him_ ?” Hop jests, pointing at Mike, who narrows his eyes in response  
  
“Very” Will confirms “I love him, too”  
  
Mike looks down, immediately bashful.

“Right” Hopper starts, looking between the two, resignation on his face.

“I understand, but this is still my house-”

“ _Technically_ it’s Joyce’s” Mike says, unable to help himself, earning a nudge in the ribs from Will.

“ _My_ house. So there will be some ground rules. I know you’re both 16, but you will follow them and maybe, just maybe, I will allow you to continue to date my son.”

Mike gives a slight snicker in recognition, _if he hadn’t heard that before._ Will looks at him confused but isn’t too alarmed after he notices the smile on Hop’s face.

“Okay” Hopper says as he stands “I was coming up here to tell you dinner was ready. You get five minutes to, um, finish up and then I want you out of this room and at that table, capeesh?” He makes his way out of the bedroom and back toward the kitchen, shouting one last “Five minutes!” behind him.  
  


There’s a calm between them for a moment.

“So.” Mike begins

“So.” Will replies “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what exactly?” 

Will picks up one of his pillows, aiming for Mike’s head. They’re both laughing as Mike catches Will’s wrists in his hands, keeping him steady as the conversation becomes more serious.

“Yes Will. I meant it”

“Oh. Cool.”

There’s another pause.

“Me too”

“Cool.”

They both smile, before leaning in to continue from where they left off before Hopper had _oh so rudely_ interrupted them. Mike finding that he couldn’t care _too_ much about becoming distracted again. It’s Will that pulls away, Mike chasing his lips as he does so.  
  
“C’mon, it’s been five minutes” he says, gesturing at the alarm clock they kept on the small desk by the mattress. He tries to stand up but not before Mike pulls him back down onto the bed, kissing him again. A few minutes pass, both boys becoming lost in the moment, forgetting that they had somewhere they were meant to be. It’s Will’s dad calling from the hallway _‘I can’t hear you moving’_ that causes them to break apart again. Mike groans and rests his forehead against Will’s. 

“I do though. Love you, I mean” Mike’s voice is rough and he hopes that Will can hear the emotion behind it. Will smiles at him, and Mike notices that it’s a smile that he hadn’t seen in a long time. A completely unadulterated smile. A smile pre- mind flayer, pre- demogorgon but a smile that he remembers from that fateful day on the swing.  
  
“I know” he replies, two words conveying so much emotion. Mike smiles too. “What I also know is that it’s time to face the wrath of Police Chief Jim Hopper _”_ _  
__  
_He stands, successfully this time, Mike following suit.

“Are you ready to go?” Will holds his hand out to Mike who takes it, interlocking their fingers.

And he was.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. We didn't want to leave this so SURPRISE there will be a sequel. Kind of.
> 
> There's a lot of things we want to explore, so some of the missing moments within the fic as well as 'future' moments.  
> We're really excited to get started on this and we hope you will follow along in the 'Polyester Extended Universe'
> 
> Once again you can catch up with us on tumblr at [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)
> 
> And we'll see you very soon :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Follow us both on tumblr [@mayfixlds](https://mayfixlds.tumblr.com/) [@okwillthewise](https://okwillthewise.tumblr.com/)


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